Bakery manager sentenced in Senegal for breach of trust

A bakery manager in Touba, Senegal, has been sentenced to two years in prison, including six months of firm imprisonment, for breach of trust. The Diourbel court issued the ruling following a dispute between the manager, S. Diop, and the bakery owner, Mouhamadou Thiam.

The conflict began in 2022 when Thiam, a construction entrepreneur, left for Guinea-Conakry and entrusted the management of his bakery to Diop. Under their agreement, Diop was to keep 18% of monthly profits, with the remaining 82% deposited into a bank account.

Upon his return, Thiam discovered that 5 million CFA francs sent to Diop for the acquisition of two additional bakeries had disappeared, and the intended purchases were never made. Thiam also identified unexplained discrepancies regarding flour orders and discovered that the electricity meter had been tampered with, resulting in a fine of over 1 million CFA francs from Senelec.

While Diop initially admitted to the facts during the investigation, he later changed his testimony in court, claiming only a debt of 2.6 million CFA francs. The court ordered Diop to pay 15 million CFA francs in damages to Thiam.