The Ziguinchor prosecutor’s office has ruled on the case of the 12 people recently arrested as part of an investigation into alleged homosexual offences. Kéwoulo news outfit reported that one of the accused has been removed from the proceedings and released. The case stemming from the preliminary investigation has reached its first conclusion. Of the 12 people brought before the court, one has been released. He is a nurse from the Ziguinchor Peace Hospital. His phone number was found on the mobile phone of one of the suspects. Arrested by the gendarmerie based solely on this piece of evidence, the nurse denied any involvement and his denials were ultimately accepted by the prosecutor’s office, which removed him from the proceedings.
The 11 other individuals involved have been remanded in custody. They include several tailors, shopkeepers, Batch car drivers, a cook, a Sonatel employee, and two students.
The preliminary investigations into the case have been completed. Under the new provisions of Article 319 of the Senegalese Penal Code, the men face between five and ten years in prison.
According to information obtained by Kéwoulo from judicial sources, some of the accused have tested positive for HIV. This latest discovery risks further complicating their cases, even though it is known that the charge of intentionally transmitting HIV is very difficult, since the guilty intent of the accused must be proven.