At the hearing on Friday October 13, 2023, the Bobo-Dioulasso criminal court sentenced a young “Madi”, assumed name, to 24 months in prison and a fine of 500,000 FCFA, all suspended. He is accused of having hijacked a moped belonging to a student.
The events took place on January 9, 2023 in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso. A week after the 2022 end-of-year festivities, Madi asks for a young student’s motorcycle to carry out specific errands. Given the trust between these two people, the request will be approved by the student without even asking any questions. Madi had to bring the machine back the same day. And, he didn’t.
Since that day, the victim remained without news of his motorcycle until March 2023. It was on this date that he filed a complaint against the alleged perpetrator for having hijacked his motorcycle which had been given to him. After police investigations, Madi will be arrested and then referred to the Bobo Detention and Correction Center (MACB) for breach of trust. The case was retained on Friday October 13, 2023 for trial.
On the stand, the defendant does not fully admit the facts. He said he had an accident with the machine on January 9. According to him, he wanted to repair it before returning it to the owner. But the prosecution refutes this argument, considering that Madi never intended to return the motorcycle to its owner. “From January to March, that’s three. During all this time, you did not return the motorcycle and, worse, investigations revealed that you were riding the same motorcycle in the city,” says the Faso prosecutor.
Before the prosecution makes its requisitions, the victim indicates that he no longer had the device since January 9, 2023 when he should have gone to the university for his classes. This is how he asked to pay for another motorcycle estimated at 500,000 CFA francs. On this, the prosecution considers that the facts of breach of trust have been established. He requested that he be sentenced to a prison sentence of 24 months, 12 of which will be fixed, and a suspended fine of 500,000 CFA francs.
The court which had the last word was more lenient than the prosecution towards the defendant. He sentenced him to 24 months and 500,000 CFA francs, all suspended. In addition, condemns him to pay the sum of 500,000 CFA francs to the victim in damages, and says that the judicial constraint is set at three months in prison (Upon his release, the convicted person has the obligation to pay the 500,000 F CFA otherwise he will go back to prison for 3 months until he pays).
Ben Alassane DAO
