ZCZC
BFF-36
MISSING-INVESTIGATION-FRANCE
Senegal’s ‘best student,’ who went missing in France, goes home
DAKAR, Jan 29, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Diary Sow, an outstanding Senegalese
student whose disappearance in France this month sparked concern in both
countries, has returned home to the West African state, local media reported
on Friday.
Well-known in Senegal, Sow won an award for being the country’s best
student in 2018 and 2019.
But the 20-year-old went missing from the prestigious Louis-Le-Grand lycee
(high school) in Paris this month, where she was enrolled.
Her disappearance was closely followed in France and her native country,
where many feared for her wellbeing. French prosecutors opened an
investigation into her whereabouts.
However Senegalese Sanitation Minister Serigne Mbaye Thiam published an
exchange he had with Sow on January 21, allaying concerns about her safety.
The student told Thiam — a former eduction minister, who is her mentor —
that she had taken “a little break to regain my senses”.
Senegalese media reported on Friday that Sow had returned to the country
and was staying at Thiam’s house.
The minister reportedly travelled to Paris last week to accompany her
home.
AFP was unable to independently verify the information, and Thiam refused
to respond to questions.
A Senegalese government official, who declined to be named, said: “She is
an adult, perfectly free to come to Senegal. This question is no longer
relevant for us.”
As well as once being Senegal’s best student, Sow published a novel
published in France last year, “The Face of an Angel”.
BSS/AFP/BZC/1912HRS