Tabaski Ngom : Le coup de gueule de ses avocats après la libération « sans confrontation » de Moustapha Diop
It's a huge relief for Moustapha Diop's supporters, but a real blow for Tabaski Ngom's defense team. She is charged with embezzling over 700 million CFA francs in public funds. Her co-defendant, Moustapha Diop, whom she accuses of manipulating her, has been released in quick succession.
On the one hand, Moustapha Diop was granted provisional release under judicial supervision yesterday before the High Court of Justice's Investigating Committee in the Force Covid-19 funds case, after depositing 120 million CFA francs. On the other hand, in the case of the Agency for the Promotion of Industrial Sites (APROSI), the Financial Judicial Pool's Financial Indictment Chamber overturned the investigating judges' decision to deny him provisional release, placing him under house arrest with an electronic monitoring bracelet.
This release has sparked outrage and condemnation from lawyers Ndèye Fatou Touré and El Hadji Basse, members of the Tabaski Ngom legal team. "The two investigating judges jointly handling the Tabaski Ngom case had opposed his provisional release. Unfortunately, he was released under electronic monitoring by the Financial Indictment Chamber, and this in a context where no confrontation took place," the defense team protested.
Placed under a detention order since January 23, 2025, Tabaski Ngom is being prosecuted for a host of charges: criminal association, embezzlement of public funds, money laundering, fraud against public funds, fraudulent access to a computer system and damage to the integrity of that system.
However, her lawyers, Ndèye Fatou Touré, El Hadji Basse, Ousmane Thiam, Amadou Dionwar Soumaré, Seyba Danfakha, and Ousseynou Ngom, firmly refute the image of a financial criminal. According to them, Tabaski Ngom is the victim of a double fraud and manipulation.
Attorney Ndèye Fatou Touré highlighted her client's background to emphasize the anomaly: "She is an inspector who had a career spanning nearly 20 years and had never been the subject of any reprimand in the exercise of her profession. She only began to commit these inexplicable and unprecedented acts after she met Moustapha Diop," she stated. According to the lawyer, the former minister took advantage of his hierarchical authority, as well as his psychological and emotional hold over her, to get her to approve disbursements based on false invoices. She revealed that, even after leaving his ministerial post, the elected official from Louga continued to demand large sums of money, notably to finance his election campaigns.
The money fraudulently siphoned from state coffers never benefited the accountant. The lawyer asserts that the funds were either given directly to Moustapha Diop or transported through identified intermediaries, namely his driver and the latter's brother. Other co-defendants are also implicated, such as Mor Guèye and the former director of APROSI, Momath Bah, the latter having been released after posting bail of 90 million CFA francs.
"What happened to our complaint?"
For the defense, Moustapha Diop's release before even a confrontation is a procedural heresy. Attorney Ndèye Fatou Touré did not hide her anger at what she considers blatant preferential treatment. "Today, there can be no real and complete investigation aimed at uncovering the truth without a confrontation between the main protagonists. Ms. Tabaski Ngom was the first to file a complaint as part of the DIC investigation. What has become of that complaint? She filed a complaint with a civil claim directed solely against Moustapha Diop. And as I speak to you, this complaint has not been acted upon, which is completely contrary to the law," the lawyer emphasized before continuing: "Furthermore, she filed another complaint with a civil claim directed solely against Moustapha Diop. As I speak to you, this complaint has still not been acted upon," she insisted.
In an attempt to implicate the former minister, who denies receiving these funds or having any particular relationship with the former accountant, the defense filed a request on May 6, 2026, with the magistrates of the 1st and 5th chambers of the Financial Judicial Pool, seeking a confrontation and further investigative measures. In this request, the defense sought a confrontation between Tabaski Ngom and Moustapha Diop. The lawyers also requested technical access to Sonatel and other telephone operators to obtain a detailed call history. The defense maintains that the accountant received incessant calls from Moustapha Diop at inappropriate hours, and that he maintained pressure until the disbursed funds were made available to her.
However, Tabaski Ngom's legal team did not prevail. On May 20, 2026, the investigating judge issued order no. 94-2026 refusing to allow further investigative measures, a decision notified to the lawyers on May 26, 2026.
For Ms. Touré, the judge must thoroughly seek the truth. “The investigation is not simply a phase of collecting police reports. It is a higher, jurisdictional level, where the judge must explore all avenues to uncover the truth. The judge must know the full truth following in-depth investigations that go beyond what the investigators have done. That is why we are requesting a confrontation. It's basic. We have a sense of incompleteness. We are asking for balance in how the requests of both parties are handled,” Ms. Ndèye Fatou Touré asserted.
Heading towards a battle before the Court of Appeal
Defense lawyers denounce a desire to hastily close the judicial investigation, noting that the case file was only provided to them for review within three days. Refusing to accept that Tabaski Ngom alone should bear the blame for this financial disaster, the team of lawyers announced its intention to appeal the dismissal order. A fierce legal battle is expected.
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