By Dawda Baldeh
Fatoumata Keita, a resident of Mamuda village (WCR), is recovering in hospital after surviving a brutal assault allegedly carried out by her husband, Abdoulie Bojang. The attack, which left her hospitalized at Ndemban Clinic since Friday, followed a series of ongoing marital issues, she told The Fatu Network in an exclusive interview.
According to Fatoumata, the incident was preceded by a strange encounter with police in Sanyang. On Thursday, she said, officers unexpectedly contacted her to inform her that Abdoulie had filed a report against her – though they refused to disclose the content of the complaint. When she arrived at the station, she found her husband absent.
“The police asked me to wait while they tried to reach him,” she recalled. “They called him several times, but he eventually switched off his phone.”
Later that day, Fatoumata said Abdoulie contacted her and instructed her to leave for her parents’ home until further notice, hinting at a possible separation. “I asked him why, and he assured me he hadn’t divorced me – just that I should wait for him,” she said.
She noted that while he was away for prayers at the mosque, she locked herself in her room. Upon his return, Abdoulie banged on the door, demanding she open it.
“When I finally opened it, he told me to move my child, who I was breastfeeding. He grabbed my neck and pulled out a hammer from behind. He struck me several times – I covered my head while screaming for help,” she recounted. Fatoumata said she eventually managed to escape and run outside for safety.
The Fatu Network has obtained disturbing images of her injuries, as well as x-ray scans that reveal the extent of the assault. Speaking from her hospital bed, Fatoumata described the ordeal as “horrific,” adding that the attack happened while she was breastfeeding her two-month-old baby, with her one-year-six-month-old also on the bed.
“Since the incident, I haven’t heard anything from the police, and Abdoulie is still walking around freely,” she said. “He nearly killed me.” Attempts by The Fatu Network to reach the police for comment have so far been unsuccessful.
