Farba Ngom, detained in the special ward of Dakar's Principal Hospital, was questioned last Tuesday by investigators from the Faidherbe Research Brigade of the Dakar Gendarmerie Company, according to Seneweb sources. The questioning of the member of parliament and mayor of Agnams follows a complaint he filed through his lawyer, Baboucar Cissé, against the newspaper "Walf Quotidien" and the economist Meïssa Babou. The public prosecutor at the Dakar High Court has entrusted the case to the Dakar Research Brigade.

Before investigators, Farba Ngom confirmed his letter of complaint, demanding justice to clear his name, he said. The two journalists from "Walf Quotidien," authors of the article, and the economist Meïssa Babou will be summoned by investigators soon.

As a reminder, in the document filed on October 16th with the prosecutor's office by Mr. Cissé, the plaintiff expresses himself in these terms:

"IT IS HONORED TO INFORM YOU THAT:

He hereby intends to file a formal 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 for Walf Quotidien, Mr. Meïssa BABOU, economist, as well as any other persons that the investigation may reveal, for the offenses of defamation and insult as defined and punished by Article 258 of the Penal Code.

The origin of the conflict: an article deemed defamatory

The plaintiff explains the circumstances that 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 for the daily newspaper Walf Quotidien, which fundamentally damages his honor and reputation."

The article in question, 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 from housing developments, 29 land titles located in the municipality of Ngor-Almadies, and land located in Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Coast and Togo."

Meïssa Babou 's remarks called into question

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

"Real estate companies created by politicians have proliferated since 2014, under Macky Sall's presidency, according to Meïssa Babou. He believes they constitute a mechanism for laundering funds for former directors general, ministers, and close associates of Macky Sall . 'It's a way to seize land with incentives granted by the state. A single title in Almadies is worth more than ten times the turnover of a bakery and a normal business. They chose the easy way out, not through ethics, but through shady dealings and embezzlement,' he continues. 'It's illicit enrichment. They buy state assets at rock-bottom prices to resell them at exorbitant prices. The responsibility of the DGID (General Directorate of Taxes and Domains) must also be addressed,' asserts economist Meïssa Babou. According to him, genuine businesspeople are not involved in these schemes." "Files. They were never flagged by Centif reports," the complaint reads.

The legal basis for the complaint

The plaintiff invokes Article 258 of the Penal Code, which stipulates:

"Any allegation or imputation of a fact that harms the honor or reputation of the person or body to whom the fact is imputed constitutes defamation."

He also specifies that, in accordance with Article 248 of the Penal Code, defamation is punishable "even if it is expressed in a doubtful form or if it targets a person or body not expressly named, but whose identification is made possible by the terms of the speeches, shouts, threats, writings or printed matter, placards or posters in question."

The plaintiff also argues that paragraph 2 of Article 258 of the Penal Code provides:

"Any outrageous expression, any term of contempt relating or not to a person's origin, any invective that does not contain the imputation of any fact is an insult."

Accusations deemed false and outrageous

In his complaint, Farba Ngom firmly denies the accusations made 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 from housing developments, of 29 land titles located in the municipality of Ngor-Almadies, land located in Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Coast and Togo with disconcerting nonsense and without the slightest proof, fundamentally damage the honor and reputation of the plaintiff in addition to being rigorously false."

He adds categorically:

"It goes without saying that the offense of defamation has been committed against him."

Regarding Meïssa Babou's remarks, the plaintiff believes they constitute an insult in the following terms:

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