Fatou Guewel Diouf convicted

Friday, March 14, 2008
Reports reaching the Daily Observer indicate that Senegalese Mbalaax star, Fatou Guewal Diouf, has been sentenced on Tuesday by  the Dakar Magistrate’s Court  to indemnify  Mbaye Guéye N’diaye, her ex-husband.  The sum is amounted to 1 million francs CFA.  

After months of hearings, portrayed by the Senegalese  popular media as the most sensationnal moments,  the Court found her guilty  of bigamy .

The whole saga began  after she got married to singer Mapenda Seck without .  Considering that the divorce  didn’t follow the normal process,  her former husband Mbaye Guéye N’diaye, alias ‘‘Petit la’’, decided to take the matter  up with the competent juridictions.

Handing down his ruling,  Magistate Racine Thior pointed out that sufficient evidences have been gathered against the accused person, adding that the Mbalaax star is guilty of bigamy, but discharged her from adultery, one of the two counts.

Asked wheither he is satisfied with the verdict, the plaintiff’s lawyer said the outcome of the trial ‘‘constitutes a moral victory for his client ‘’. He then added that they are not interested in the financial aspect of the verdict.

Born in June 1964 in Dakar, Fatou Guewel Kara (39) is a singer, rooted in the griot tradition of the Wolof.  On the album Fatou, her superb voice is accompanied by a xalam-lute, bass, keyboard (by Lemzo Diamono's Tapha Faye), and, thank God, a range of fine Senegalese percussion (including percussionists for Tama, Sabar drums).

Having sung for many years, she formed her own group and recorded a first cassette in 1992, followed by three albums for KSF Diagne Productions in Dakar. Despite the judicial blow, the Mbalaax diva continues to have big audience in the Senegambian region.


Author: by Abdoulie John