1.1 million FCFA from a stolen phone lands in his account: The incredible justification of a convicted trader!

The theft of a mobile phone during a Kankourang celebration landed Mame Ndiaga Khouma in the Mbour High Court. Charged with receiving stolen goods, the businessman was sentenced to six months in prison, one of which is a mandatory sentence. He will also have to pay 1.25 million CFA francs in damages to the victim, Oustaz Ndiaye.

The incident dates back to a Sunday evening. Oustaz Ndiaye had his mobile phone stolen. Aware of the risk of hacking, he quickly contacted the Wave service to have his account blocked. But he overlooked a crucial detail: his bank account remained directly accessible from the stolen device.

According to the evidence presented at the hearing, the sum of 1.1 million CFA francs from Oustaz Ndiaye's account was finally transferred, via Orange Money, to Mame Ndiaga Khouma's number.

In court, he attempted to explain the origin of these suspicious financial transactions. He claimed that around 8 p.m., a customer named Abdoulaye Diouf came to buy an iPhone Pro Max and accessories for 470,000 CFA francs, paid for via Orange Money. According to the defendant, his customer then asked him to help withdraw money, claiming he had reached his account limit.

“He told me that his Orange Money account had reached its limit and that he could not withdraw any money. He asked me if he could send me the money so that I could withdraw it,” Mame Ndiaga Khouma explained in court.

This justification did not convince the court at all. The public prosecutor even issued him a stern warning: “When you are a professional in the business world, you must be vigilant. I can understand that his account has reached its limit and that he can no longer receive funds, but he cannot use the limit as an excuse to withdraw money. Selling phones requires rigor. You have acted negligently.”

Conflicting accounts presented in court

The defendant's statements were also compared with those of Cheikh Diop, the manager of the money transfer point that carried out the transaction. Diop explained that Mame Ndiaga Khouma had come to his shop accompanied by a stranger to make a withdrawal.

“He told me he wanted to withdraw 750,000 CFA francs. I told him I only had 450,000 CFA francs left. I withdrew that amount. The guy he was with asked me if he could send me the money via my account. But I refused because I don’t work like that,” testified the manager of the Wave/Orange Money point.

For his part, Mame Ndiaga Khouma maintained that he had made two withdrawals of 450,000 CFA francs on behalf of his well-known client. This version of events contradicts both Cheikh Diop's testimony and the evidence submitted to the court.

The chairman pointed out the glaring inconsistencies in the merchant's explanations: "What you say you received and what is written on the documents are different."

Found guilty of receiving stolen goods due to the multiple contradictions in his statements on the number and amount of withdrawals, Mame Ndiaga Khouma was sentenced by the Mbour High Court to six months in prison, one month of which was suspended, as well as to pay 1,250,000 CFA francs in damages to Oustaz Ndiaye.