The remanded Senegalese music star has been released on bail after spending eight months in state custody. Thione Seck, the lead vocalist of Raam Daam band, last night walked out of Cap Manual prison for the first time in several months.
Mr. Seck’s brush with the law started in May last year when he was arrested, detained and later charged with possessing counterfeit currencies.
Call for Seck’s release, reportedly on health grounds, was first made public by his lead counsel. Ousmane Sèye had fought for his client’s release until his case resumes in court. Two days before his release, news of Thione Seck’s appalling health was leaked to the media. According to a person who works with him, Seck should be released from remand immediately.
Upon arrival at home, Thione’s family was filled with smiles, laughter and tears. Dressed in gray outfit, the singer came out of the car with mild smile and rushed into his house where his ecstatic wife, Diaga, and family met him.
One of Seck’s daughters could not hold back tears upon seeing her father. Moumy Seck started shedding tears after hugging her father for a lengthy period. Thione, a firm follower of the Mouride brotherhood of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, consoled her daughter. Seneweb.com quoted him as telling Moumy, “it would have been worse if I were to die in prison and buried at Touba. We must give thanks to God.”
Last June, Thione Seck cried before a group of visiting Senegalese musicians led by Falou Dieng. “I do not cry because I am in detention in Rebeuss, but for the difficult conditions under which many prisoners are currently facing. What I saw inside is not beautiful to see because there are detainees who do not have anything to eat. There are others who are remanded for years without appearing in court,” local press quoted Seck as saying.
He described his detention as a God-ordained mission. “I’m here on a mission,” the 60-year-old musician said, promising to advocate for detainees in horrible conditions in Rebeuss. Thione is determined to compose a song on the plight of detainees upon release.
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