The neighborhood was quiet that evening in Unit 21 of the Parcelles-Assainies district of Dakar. Quiet, that is, until the door of Ms. Th. Niang's house slammed shut behind her. She had just been thrown out in the middle of the night, after being beaten with a chair leg and then strangled by her husband, O. Fall. Inside, the man had locked himself in with two of their children. Outside, the woman was trembling, holding her six-month-old baby in her arms. This brutal scene, however, was only the latest episode in a series of domestic violence incidents.

Placed under a detention order on November 19, following his arrest by the Parcelles-Assainies district police station, O. Fall appeared this Monday before the Dakar court for flagrant offenses

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"Before I go to prison, I'll kill you."

According to the investigation, for months, O. Fall, 37, a customs broker, had been threatening his wife. During each argument, he used the same cold, cutting words: "Before I go to prison, I'll kill you," the husband threatened. The wife recorded these words and saved them on a USB drive. She said it was a way to protect herself, or perhaps a survival instinct. On that particular day, Mr. Th. Niang had tried to defuse the situation.

According to her, her husband is a hot-tempered man who hurls insults at her and even attacks her daughters from a previous marriage. Then, in a sudden movement, he tries to take their baby. That's when she intervened. The husband then hit her with a chair leg, beat her severely, strangled her, and threw her out.

The terrified housekeeper instinctively moved the baby to safety. It was with this infant that Ms. Th. Niang went to sleep at an aunt's house in Diamalaye. The next day, she went to the Mame Abdoul Aziz Sy health center for a consultation. The doctor diagnosed signs of violence and issued her a medical certificate with a temporary incapacity for work of eight days. The photos of the injuries speak for themselves.

The husband gives a different version

When questioned, O. Fall denied the allegations. He accused his wife of abusing their eldest son, fabricating stories, and having inappropriate conversations with a former brother-in-law. "I was defending myself; she was attacking me with objects," he swore. As for the death threats, he stated, "Just empty words, nothing serious."

The plaintiff, who is unrepresented, did not seek damages. The public prosecutor requested a one-year prison sentence. The defense, represented by lawyers Mor Samb and Serigne Ndiongue, who believe the prosecution's demands are harsh, requested leniency.

Ultimately, the court found O. Fall guilty of the charges and sentenced him to two months in prison with a fine of 200,000 CFA francs.