The Thiès court of flagrant offenses examined, this Wednesday, a case of falsification of administrative documents involving S. Diop, a 75-year-old farmer, and O. Sow, a 60-year-old retired civil registrar.

S. Diop is being prosecuted for criminal association, forgery and use of forged documents and fraud, in particular for having given a false marriage certificate to A. Mbengue, in exchange for the sum of 40,000 CFA francs.

For his part, O. Sow is charged with conspiracy, forgery and use of forged documents, and complicity in fraud, for having helped in the production of the fraudulent documents.

According to the prosecution, the two men had set up a system for producing false civil status documents, using counterfeit stamps from the town halls of Thiès-Est and Thiès-Ouest. These documents were then sold to individuals for between 7,000 and 40,000 CFA francs.

The case came to light following a complaint filed by Ms. A. Mbengue. The gendarmerie's investigation led to the dismantling of the network and the seizure of several forged documents during searches conducted at the homes of those involved. Municipal authorities confirmed that these documents did not originate from their civil registry offices.

In court, S. Diop admitted to the facts, stating that the documents were prepared by O. Sow, whom he paid between 5,000 and 7,000 CFA francs per document. He also admitted to having participated in several operations.

O. Sow, for his part, attempted to defend himself by claiming he produced the documents knowing they were irregular. He said he warned his co-defendant against using them. He also admitted to keeping an official stamp after his retirement before expressing his regret.

The public prosecutor has requested a one-month prison sentence for each of the two defendants. The court will render its decision at a later date.