A cattle theft case was heard this Friday, June 5th, before the Thiès court of summary jurisdiction. C. Touré and his friend SF Guèye are being prosecuted for the theft committed as a group, involving two sheep belonging to MC Kâ, while taxi driver M. Dia appeared in court for complicity in the theft.

In court, C. Touré denied any involvement in the theft. He explained that a certain Amdy Fall had hired the driver and that he had simply helped load the two sheep into the vehicle.

"I didn't know that this cattle had been stolen. I went to the police of my own accord to respond to their summons," he said.

SF Guèye offered the same line of defense, maintaining that it was Amdy Fall who had chartered the taxi and had asked him and C. Touré to help transport the animals.

"When I learned that the driver had been arrested, I went to give my statement to the police. That's how I was arrested," he stated.

For his part, the driver, Mr. Dia, gave a completely different version of events. Charged with complicity in theft, he stated that C. Touré and SF Guèye had approached him while he was at Don Bosco, in the Médina Fall district.

“They asked me to transport these sheep to Mbodjène. During the loading, someone alerted the owner of the animals. That is how C. Touré and SF Guèye fled, leaving me behind,” he explained, formally identifying the two defendants.

MC Kâ, who filed a civil suit, stated that he shared the same residence as Amdy Fall, but that the latter did not own any sheep. He concluded by declaring that he had forgiven the defendants.

In his closing arguments, the public prosecutor stated that the theft charges were undeniable. He requested that C. Touré and SF Guèye be sentenced to two years' imprisonment and fined 200,000 FCFA each. However, he requested the acquittal of the driver, M. Dia, arguing that he should be given the benefit of the doubt.

The court acquitted the driver, Mr. Dia, due to reasonable doubt. Regarding C. Touré and SF Guèye, the court reclassified the charges as theft committed by an organized group and sentenced them to two years' imprisonment, with six months to be served, and a fine of 100,000 FCFA each.