Currently in preventive detention at the Rebeuss House of Arrest and Correction, Mouhamadou Ngom, known as Farba, has filed a complaint, through his lawyer, Mr. Baboucar Cissé, against the newspaper Walf Quotidien and the economist Meïssa Babou.

The complaint was filed yesterday, Thursday, at the level of the Special Cybersecurity Division and the Public Prosecutor at the High Court of Dakar, according to Seneweb sources.

The terms of the complaint

In the document written by Mr. Cissé, the complainant expresses himself in these terms:

"HAVE THE HONOUR OF INFORMING YOU THAT:

By this document, he intends to file a complaint with you against Mr. Seyni DIOP, Director of Publication of the newspaper Walf Quotidien located at 12, Route du Front de Terre , Mr. Salif KA, journalist of Walf Quotidien, Mr. Meïssa BABOU, economist as well as all persons that the investigation will reveal for the offenses of defamation and insults provided for and punishable by Article 258 of the Penal Code."

The origin of the conflict: an article deemed defamatory

The complainant explains the circumstances which led him to take legal action:

"Mr. Farba NGOM had the unpleasant surprise of discovering, on Monday, October 13, 2025, an article published by Mr. Salif KA, a journalist from the daily newspaper Walf Quotidien, which fundamentally undermines his honor and reputation."

The incriminating article, signed by journalist Salif KA, contained the following allegations:

"While in detention, Farba NGOM is suspected, through the companies WOODROSE-INVESTMENT and SF-FARMS, of being the owner of 251 plots of land from the subdivisions, of 29 land titles located in the commune of Ngor-Almadies, of land located in Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Coast and Togo."

Meïssa Babou's comments called into question

The article also included statements by economist Meïssa Babou, which the plaintiff considers equally defamatory:

"Civil real estate companies created by politicians have grown in size since 2014, under the reign of Macky Sall, according to Meïssa BABOU. According to him, they constitute a mechanism for concealing funds for former general managers, ministers, and those close to Macky Sall. 'It's a way of grabbing land with facilities granted by the State. A title to the Almadies brings in more than ten times the turnover of a bakery and a normal business. They chose the easy way out, not in ethics, but in swindling and embezzlement,' he continues. 'It's illicit enrichment. It's state property that they buy at low prices to resell at high prices. We must also determine the responsibility of the DGID,' says economist Meïssa BABOU. According to him, the real businessmen are not involved in these cases. They were never pinned down by Centif reports," the complaint reads.

The legal grounds for the complaint

The complainant invokes Article 258 of the Criminal Code which stipulates:

"Any allegation or imputation of a fact which harms the honour or reputation of the person or body to whom the fact is attributed is defamation."

It also specifies that in accordance with Article 248 of the Criminal Code, defamation is punishable "even if it is expressed in a dubious form or if it targets a person or body not expressly named, but whose identification is made possible by the terms of the speeches, cries, threats, writings or prints, placards or posters in question."

The complainant also argues that paragraph 2 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code provides:

"Any insulting expression, any term of contempt, whether or not related to a person's origin, any invective which does not contain the imputation of any fact is an insult."

Accusations deemed false and outrageous

In his complaint, Farba Ngom firmly contests the accusations against him:

"The statements of Mr. Salif KA, who accuses Mr. Farba NGOM, currently in pre-trial detention, of being the owner of 251 plots of land from the subdivisions, of 29 land titles located in the commune of Ngor-Almadies, land located in Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Coast and Togo with disconcerting levity and without the slightest proof, fundamentally undermine the honor and reputation of the complainant in addition to being rigorously false."

He adds categorically:

"It goes without saying that the offense of defamation is constituted against him."

Regarding Meïssa Babou's comments, the complainant considers that they constitute an insult in these terms:

"Whereas Mr. Meïssa BABOU went much further. In addition to undermining the plaintiff's honor and reputation, he insulted him using outrageous expressions. Indeed, he accuses the plaintiff of scheming and illicit enrichment in these terms: '…They chose the easy way out, not in ethics, but in scheming and embezzlement,' he continues. 'It is illicit enrichment…'."

In view of these elements, the complainant concludes:

"In view of the facts thus presented, Mr. Mouhamadou NGOM, known as Farba, is compelled, in view of the extremely serious nature of the facts and the extent of the resulting damage to his honor and integrity, to file a complaint with you, Mr. Commissioner of the Special Cybersecurity Division, against Mr. Seyni DIOP, Publication Director of Walf Quotidien, Mr. Salif KA, author of the article and Mr. Meïssa BABOU as well as all persons that the investigation will reveal for the aforementioned offenses and requests that they be subjected to rigorous application of criminal law."