On Tuesday, the courtroom of the Pikine-Guédiawaye Criminal Court in Dakar was plunged into a chilling atmosphere as MA Hanne, a shopkeeper originally from Podor who recently set up a shop in the Unité 3 Market of the Parcelles Assainies district, appeared, accused by a 13-year-old girl of extremely serious offences.
According to L’Observateur newspaper, the alarm was raised by N Ndiaye, a fishmonger from the neighbouring market that Hanne had locked his shop after a little girl entered it. After the little girl was rescued, her parents took her to a gynaecologist, who discovered a tear in her hymen. Following this discovery, Hanne was arrested and taken before the public prosecutor.
The distraught girl told investigators and the examining magistrate that the shopkeeper lured her into his store, threatened her with a knife, and inserted a finger into her vagina, partially confirming the medical certificate. In his testimony before the court, Hanne alternated between denials and accusations, notably alleging a conspiracy involving shopkeepers and customs officers.
The prosecution, for its part, considered the evidence in the case to be consistent and credible. Based on the medical certificate and the victim’s statements, the prosecutor asserted that the vulnerable child had been subjected to digital penetration and requested a sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment.
Hanne’s defence team denounced the case as flimsy, relying on assumptions and indirect testimony, noting that no witness had seen the alleged act and that the medical certificate had been issued a month-and-a-half after the events.
After several hours of deliberations, Hanne was remanded in custody pending the verdict, scheduled for 7th April.
Dakaractu
