The Dakar Court of Appeal heard the case of businessman Pape Djiby Ka, residing in Sicap Foire, on Tuesday. He was sentenced in the first instance to four years in prison for defrauding Bara Lo of 250 million CFA francs. The case concerns a sugar transaction that took place in 2024.

Regarding the facts

This is a commercial transaction involving the sale of sugar and rice estimated at 4,000 tons. Bara Lo, a merchant based in Touba, claims to have been put in contact with the defendant through Deputy Prosecutor MD, presented as a trusted third party. Convinced of the transaction's legitimacy, Bara Lo states that he gradually paid 250 million CFA francs to Pape Djiby Ka, in the presence of the aforementioned magistrate on several occasions. However, the promised merchandise was never delivered. After several unsuccessful attempts to contact him, a complaint was filed, triggering an investigation by the Colobane Research Section.

During the investigation and in court, Pape Djiby Ka admitted to receiving the funds but denied any fraudulent intent. He maintained that the merchandise existed and belonged to a Malian operator, specifying that the stock was in transit and intended for sale outside of Senegal.

The defendant also claims that Bara Lo was aware of the irregular nature of the operation and that he agreed to participate in a transaction involving fraudulent practices, including the payment of bribes to facilitate the movement of goods. For his part, the plaintiff maintains that he never saw the merchandise and denounces the scheme as a setup designed to deceive him. Bara Lo states that he only recovered 12 million FCFA of the amounts paid.

During the trial before the criminal court, the plaintiff claimed €500,000 in damages. The prosecution highlighted the existence of fraudulent maneuvers, including the presentation of photos and videos purported to prove the existence of the merchandise, as well as the involvement of a third-party certifier who bolstered the project's credibility. The prosecution requested that the sentence handed down at first instance be upheld.

The defense lawyers, for their part, argued that there was no fraud, describing it as a risky business transaction between informal operators. According to them, the plaintiff cannot benefit from their own wrongdoing, having accepted a transaction they knew to be irregular. They also contested the role of the magistrate in question, emphasizing that no formal proof of his involvement in any fraudulent scheme had been established.

In its deliberations, the court upheld the charge of fraud before sentencing him to 4 years imprisonment and ordering him to pay 250 million FCFA to the civil party, for all causes of damage combined.

Pape Djiby Ka appealed both the sentence and the civil damages. In court, his lawyers, Bassirou Baldé and Bachir Lo, pleaded for leniency, promising to reimburse the civil party. The public prosecutor requested confirmation of the ruling. Ousmane Thiam argued for the judge's decision to be upheld in its entirety.

After the pleadings, the Court of Appeal adjourned the case for deliberation until May 5th.