At the hearing on Monday, November 6, 2023, the person named “SM” appeared before the judges of the Bobo-Dioulasso criminal court to answer for the acts of cattle theft with which he is accused.
The case pits “SM” against his elder “SK”, all of whom have the same father and mother. It turns out that their father died last year, leaving behind 25 head of oxen. Since the death of the late father, the two consanguineous brothers have no longer agreed on the management of the oxen. Instead of sharing equally, the older brother starts selling oxen. He had to sell three oxen in total.
Days passed and the little brother also decided one day to kidnap an ox to sell. This is how misunderstandings will arise between the two brothers. To the great surprise, the eldest summons the little brother to the police. It is in these circumstances that “SM” will be referred to the Bobo Detention and Correction Center (MACB). The case will be scheduled for the hearing on November 6, 2023 to be judged.
On the stand, SM does not recognize the acts of cattle theft with which he is accused. He claims he didn’t steal. “These are our father’s oxen. We must all inherit, but my big brother allows himself to sell oxen without informing me. I too decided to kidnap an ox to sell. Before doing so, I even informed our uncle,” suggested the defendant on the stand.
Still in front of the judges, SM specifies that one day his elder had to say that he “knows a policeman and that he is going to sell an ox so that they can lock me up. Indeed, he summoned me to the police and when I arrived at the police, the policeman made me sign a paper without even asking me any questions. He brought me before the prosecutor the same day,” states with conviction SM
For his part, SK says that his little brother stole the oxen and he told him to bring them back so that we could share the other oxen fairly.
After all, the prosecution considered that the remarks made by the defendant are quite serious if they are proven. To this end, he asked the court to postpone the case until November 13, 2023 to bring in the investigators.
Ben Alassane DAO
