Senegal’s Grammy winner Youssou Ndour has been found guilty of assault and battery for a skirmish last year with a local publisher, and ordered to pay a fine and restitution, the plaintiff’s lawyer said on Friday.
The Dakar correctional court ruled that Ndour will have to pay 500 000 CFA francs (R6 650) in fines and the same amount in damages to Yakham Mbaye, the director general of the private Com 7 press group, attorney Ousmane Seye said.
Mbaye filed suit against Ndour in January after a litigious battle for control of Com 7, in which Ndour and his associate, Cheikh Tall Dioum, were partners.
Ndour and Dioum, flanked by military police, stormed the headquarters of Com 7 in November last year and chased the journalists, Mbaye among them, from the premises.
There was no immediate reaction from Ndour or any member of his entourage.
A Grammy winner in the best contemporary world music album category for last year’s Egypt — given rave reviews in many places apart from Senegal itself where some fans found a change of style hard to swallow — Ndour is also a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Children’s Fund. — Sapa-AFP