Shepherd A. Bâ learned his fate this Wednesday, May 13, from the criminal chamber of the Thiès High Court. Aged 37, he was prosecuted for the murder of N. Fam, a second-year undergraduate student at the Faculty of Law and Political Science of Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD). The case was heard on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.

After deliberation, the court reduced the charge from murder to manslaughter. It found the defendant guilty on this charge and sentenced him to five years in prison.

As a reminder, the investigation revealed that on December 1, 2023, the Thiès research brigade received information about a fight that had broken out on November 27, 2023, in the Thiès-None neighborhood, next to Chez Gaby bar (formerly Café des Arts). One individual was seriously injured and admitted to the emergency room of the Thiès regional hospital.

When questioned by the BR (Brigade de Recherches - Research Brigade), the victim's friend, J. Mendy, stated that he had gone to the bar with the victim, N. Fam, on the day of the incident, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., to have food and drinks. During this time, his friend and the bar's security guard, A. Badji, had an altercation. The guard then ejected them.

J. Mendy maintained that after calming his friend, he returned to the bar to plead with the bouncer, but the bouncer sprayed him with pepper spray, forcing him to leave. After leaving the bar, he found N. Fam lying unconscious on the floor. He then took him home for the night. But upon waking, finding him still unconscious, he rushed him to the hospital.

During questioning, the bar's security guard, A. Badji, stated that on the day of the incident, the victim, after drinking beer, began smashing empty bottles. He had ejected him and his friend, J. Mendy, from the bar. He added that he was not present during the fight, but specified that the accused, A. Bâ, had confirmed to him that he had assaulted the victim.

S. Thiam, an eyewitness to the events, maintained that he was at the restaurant opposite the bar and that he saw two individuals, of Fulani appearance, attacking an individual and that one of them struck N. Fam violently on the head with a plank.

When questioned by investigators, the accused, A. Bâ, stated that as he was leaving the bar, N. Fam began insulting him and that, during the altercation, the victim used a large stone. He then defended himself by punching him violently. He denied hitting N. Fam with a plank.

In court, the defendant A. Bâ changed his story. Contrary to his statements during the preliminary investigation, he told the judge he was unaware of the incident. "I used to go to that bar, but at the time of the events, I hadn't been there for a week. I didn't get into a fight with anyone," he argued. Witness J. Mendy reiterated the statements he had made during the preliminary investigation.

The victim's father, who had filed a civil suit, stated that he was unaware of the circumstances surrounding his son's death. He specified that he had been informed by J. Mendy and had found his son in a coma at the regional hospital.

According to the public prosecutor, numerous events occurred between the blow struck and the victim's death. He believes N. Fam's death was linked to a delay in receiving medical attention, as the victim remained overnight without receiving any medical intervention.

Consequently, he had requested that the charges be reduced from murder to manslaughter. He had thus requested a four-year prison sentence for A. Bâ.

The defense, represented by Mr. Sy, argued that there was no material or scientific evidence establishing that A. Bâ was responsible for this death. He reiterated that criminal law is based on the principle of certainty, emphasizing the absence of any objective element that would allow the judge to pronounce a conviction.

According to Mr. Sy, his client was identified as the perpetrator of the crime solely because of his so-called "layered" hairstyle, an argument that the lawyer considered insufficient and unserious to establish guilt.

Consequently, he had requested the outright acquittal of his client or, as a subsidiary measure, the reclassification of the murder charges into voluntary assault and battery resulting in death without intent to kill.