Sentenced to five years of hard labor over acts of terrorism by criminal association in 2018, Saliou Ndiaye has redeemed himself by becoming a market gardener with lofty ambitions.
A week after his transfer to the prison of Saint-Louis, in northern Senegal, in November 2015, Saliou Ndiaye, 31 at the time, was placed in solitary confinement. He is considered a dangerous inmate. The native of Saré Ndiougary, in Kaolack, 200 kilometers, southeast of Dakar, was accused of terrorism along with about 20 people, including his guide, Imam Alioune Ndao. The group, some of whose members were guilty of having stayed with jihadist groups, such as Boko Haram in Nigeria, was tried three years later in a high-profile trial before the High Court of First Instance of Dakar. The charges against the thirty-year-old were very heavy: “acts of terrorism, financing of terrorism in an organized gang and money laundering in the context of terrorist activities and advocacy of terrorism.”
The court also accused the young man of links with the French-Senegalese Omar Diaby, known as Omsen, head of the famous “Brigade des Étrangers,” which is very active in Syria and composed mainly of French jihadists. At the end of the trial, Saliou Ndiaye was sentenced to five years in prison.
During his isolation in Saint-Louis, “Baye Zale,” as he is known to his family, spent most of his time watching television. Taped on the thematic channel “Animals” which broadcasts only programs related to wildlife, the prisoner discovered a passion for market gardening. “I told myself that this is the field in which I want to evolve,” the young man confided in an interview with Apa news Monday, May 9. He now back living in his city of Kaolack after being granted parole in March 2020. “A week after my release, I went to see a friend with whom I had discussed my project, during a visit he had made me in prison,” he recalled.
“When he told me about it, I didn’t hesitate. Despite all the accusations against him by the justice system, I was convinced that he was innocent,” confirmed this “friend,” Assane Ndiaye, who as a gesture of friendship for the former prisoner did not hesitate to give his first name to his eldest son, born while Saliou Ndiaye was still in prison.
Determined to quickly realize the project conceived by the former prisoner, the two friends, who have become business partners, have a bare plot of land of less than one hectare in Peul Ngadiay in the commune of Khelcom in the region of Kaffrine, not far from Kaolack. “Immediately, we decided to fence the land with “salane” (a shrub of the euphorbiaceae family). For two weeks, we did nothing else. We then borrowed money to dig a well, buy a pump and a donkey, among other needs,” recalled Saliou Ndiaye.
But the duo’s enthusiasm was nearly shattered by a mishap that makes Assane Ndiaye laugh two years later. “We had a difficult start. Our first cassava harvest was vandalized by animals that broke into our field. After that, we wondered if it was worth it,” he said.
The two friends decided to continue the adventure. This time, they planted peppers, eggplant and mint leaf. The income from the harvest is reinvested in securing the field. “We bought wire mesh to secure the fence that could no longer hold,” he added.
Little by little, the two partners made a name for themselves throughout the city of Kaolack and its surroundings, where they built a solid distribution network. In the meantime, they decided to strengthen their knowledge in the field of market gardening. The former prisoner, who served four years in Senegal’s prisons, and his confidant participated in training sessions organized by the German Agency for International Development Cooperation (GIZ) and the National Agency for the Promotion of Youth Employment in Senegal (ANPEJ). During this training, which consists of two sessions each leading to a certificate, participants are taught how to prepare a compost to make their seeds abundant. Saliou and Assane came out of this experience rejuvenated.
However, their ambition is hindered by constraints related to the material and financial means likely to improve their activity. “Our main concern is access to water. Then, we have difficulties to use all the space that has been allocated to us. For the moment, we are only using half of it,” lamented Ndiaye.
In order to develop their activities, they also aim to engage in poultry farming, aquaculture and beekeeping. But faced with “a lack of state support and a selective social reintegration policy for former prisoners,” Saliou Ndiaye, who also runs a hardware store in Ngane Alassane where he lives, can only rely on his “will and desire to succeed.”
AC/los/lb/abj/APA