Of mangoes, monkeys and a small Gambian girl

All because of the succulent mango fruit. FILE | AFRICA REVIEW |

(Africa Review) - A 12 year-old girl has been shot dead by her father in The Gambia who mistook his daughter for a monkey.

The incident occurred in a village called Kerr Mot Ali in the north of the tiny West African country on Tuesday after the young girl, Hawa Mbaye, returned from school in the afternoon.

The local Daily Observer newspaper reported that the little girl had climbed up a mango tree to pick some mangoes. According to the newspaper, monkeys have been wreaking havoc on mango farms, destroying even the unripe fruit just as the mango season is picking up this year.

The girl’s father, Mamud Mbaye, heard the commotion up the tree with the branches shaking and assumed it was a monkey that had returned. He then grabbed his gun and rushed to shoot the intruder.

Without thinking, he launched a deadly volley into the thick branches where little Hawa was picking fruits.

Instead of a dead monkey falling to the ground, Mr Mbaye watched in horror as his girl tumbled down dead with her body covered in blood.

Investigation

The corpse of the little school girl was rushed to the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital in the capital, Banjul, for post-mortem examination.

Mourners and messages of condolences continue to pour into the Mbaye home following the accident.

By TAMBA JEAN-MATTHEW in Dakar and BABOUCARR CEESAY in Banjul 
Posted Saturday, April 14  2012 at  11:54