HADDY NDURE ABDUCTED IN SENEGAL Senegalese Justice Still Dormant Will Gambian High Commission in Senegal intervene?

By MUHAMMED SAILU BAH Aja Fatou  Mboge, the grandmother of the victim and Aji Gaye, her mother appeared at the Foroyaa Office in distress because of the alleged victimisation of Haddy Ndure by some authorities in Senegal and the apparent insensitivity of a lawyer who has received full payment but has not delivered as promised. Aja Fatou Mboge requested Foroyaa to contact the Senegalese High Commission to seek advice whether any institution exists in Senegal such as a Human Rights Commission where they could lodge a complaint against Haddy Ndure’s abductors who without any reasonable suspicion or cause abused their law enforcement powers to forcefully enter her apartment, invaded her privacy, abducted her and took her money, part of which had been produced after she vigorously exposed the amount taken and gave material evidence of the bank transactions between her and her husband who is resident in UK. This reporter witnessed the encounter between Aja Fatou Mboge and the Senegalese authorities at the High Commission in Banjul. Their reaction was simple. They did not mention the existence of any oversight institution in Senegal where such complaint of injustice could be lodged. They did not see it as their role to defend the integrity of Senegalese justice which Aja Fatou Mboge was putting into question. They empathised with the grandmother but added that this was a matter for the Gambian High Commission in Dakar to solve. Aji Fatou Mboge  narrated the same story she gave this reporter for the consideration of the authorities  at the Senegalese High Commission.   HOW HADDY NDURE WAS ABDUCTED  Aja Fatou Mboge explained that the authorities in Senegal carried out an abduction and not an arrest. She intimated that she has been to Senegal with Haddy Ndure’s mother but no one could say what the young lady has done or was in possession of to warrant her brutal abduction and treatment. She said that even RADDHO a Senegalese Human Rights organisation had intervened to fight the injustice perpetrated against Haddy Ndure and has engaged Amadou Ali  Khan a Human Rights Lawyer to work to free Haddy Ndure because of the crude nature of her arrest. They promised that if the justice system does not act swiftly RADDHO would issue a statement. She told the authorities at the High Commission that the young Gambian lady admired the promotion of arts and culture in Senegal and convinced her husband, a British Citizen to pay for her to be enrolled in the Institut Francais in Dakar.Haddy Ndure kept traces of all financial transactions between her and the husband and is not in possession of any money which does not have a credible and verifiable source.  Her husband rented an apartment for her at Sacre Coeur 3 near VDN in Dakar and regularly sent her money for her upkeep. In April 2015, she was in her apartment with three female friends namely, Ramatoulie Bittaye, a Gambian and another Senegalese woman when some security men from the Gendarmerie in Coloban broke into her apartment and abducted them. The Senegalese woman was immediately released. The agents eventually revealed that the rent collector for Haddy’s apartment had problem with the law and had receipt books which bore the names of the tenants including Haddy. Despite repeated acknowledgement by those who abducted Haddy Ndure that they had no evidence to link her to any criminal behaviour Haddy  Ndure and Ramatoulie Bittaye were taken before a tribunal and at that point they were advised to approach a man by the name of Malick Cham, a court employee to assist them to get a lawyer so that Haddy would be freed without delay. The lawyer Diack  Ba  charged 300,000 CFA and accepted to receive half  before and the other half after facilitating her release . Promises were made that she would be released after a review. After the first review Ramatoulie Bittaye was released.    Since then the lawyers have been unable to secure Haddy’s release. This is what pushed the family members into desperation. Editor’s Note Embassies are supposed to defend the integrity of the institutions of their home country. They should inform their home governments of all developments which may undermine such integrity. We hope the foreign affairs Ministry, through their High Commission in Dakar would advocate for the release of Haddy Ndure. Foroyaa will give updates on this developing story.]]>