On Wednesday, the Thiès High Court sentenced motorcycle taxi driver A Dramé, to ten years in prison for the murder of his friend, D Ndiaye. The events, which occurred in 2022 in Tivaouane, stemmed from a seemingly trivial dispute over a damaged cell phone.
On the day of the tragedy, the victim went to the accused’s home to demand that his phone, broken during a previous altercation, be repaired. A fight then broke out, during which Dramé fatally stabbed his colleague. Although the defendant pleaded accident and self-defence in court, the court found him guilty.
The public prosecutor, while acknowledging that the victim had gone to the defendant’s home to provoke the fight, had requested a five-year prison sentence. The court ultimately handed down a sentence twice longer. The defence, supported by the testimony of the defendant’s mother who claimed the victim was armed with a stick, failed to convince the judges that there was no intent to kill.
This verdict brings to a close a case that deeply moved the “Batchcar” drivers known in Senegal as “Jakartamen” in Tivaouane, highlighting the tragic consequences that minor disputes between colleagues can have.
PressAfrik
