A protest against the death of Senegalese immigrant Serigne Mourballa Mbaye, 36, brought together more than a hundred people this Thursday afternoon (25) in the center of São Paulo. Protesters are calling for the investigation of the case and the punishment of two military police officers who were in the same apartment as Mbaye when he fell from the 6th floor of the building.
Friends of the Senegalese man and African immigrants who frequent Guaianases Street, where he died, say the case involves racism and abuse of authority. The two police officers entered the building without a judicial warrant.
The march, which started around 1 pm, left Guaianases Street and traveled through several streets in the central region until reaching the headquarters of the SSP (Public Security Secretariat), in Largo São Francisco. Two representatives of the protesters were received at the secretariat.
One of the protesters welcomed at the SSP was salesman Papa Magaye Gaye, 39, a friend of the dead immigrant. He made a complaint to the authorities against a police officer who was on Guaianases Street on the day of Mbaye’s death.
According to Gaye and other Senegalese also interviewed by the report, around two months ago a police officer attacked an immigrant in a square in Brás, also in the central region, and threatened the Senegalese with death. The situation was reported by at least four people.
Gaye and other immigrants say that this police officer — a member of the PM’s Special Forces, according to a photo shown to the report — participated in the confrontation between immigrants and police that took place in the street shortly after Mbaye’s death. He did not enter the apartment, according to lawyer Edson Santos, who represents Gaye.
“They come into our houses every day, they take our money,” the seller told Sheet. “Last week, a police officer broke my friend’s cell phone, an iPhone 15, in a punch.”
State deputy Eduardo Suplicy (PT) and members of the Municipal Immigrant Council, as well as representatives of other rights protection entities, participated in the demonstration.
The protest ended around 3pm, after the group received at the SSP left the meeting. They said that representatives from the secretariat were sensitive to complaints from the community and promised to take action against cases of police abuse.
Mbaye had two children and had lived in Brazil since 2013. According to a friend, he lived in the southern region for around two years before moving to São Paulo.
In a statement, the Public Security Secretariat said that representatives of the group were received by members of the department and that “the protesters presented their demands and were informed about the progress of the Civil and Military police investigations into the case.”
Deputy registered entry without judicial warrant
The entry of two police officers without a warrant into the Japurá building, where Mbaye was when he died, was reported by residents and recorded in the case report by the responsible police officer.
In a statement to the Civil Police, Lieutenant Fernando Lopes and Corporal Felipe dos Reis said they entered the Japurá building, at 50 Guaianases, after approaching three suspects on the street. They said that nothing illegal was found, but one of the suspects said that there was a store selling stolen cell phones in apartment 609 of the building.
In the BO, delegate Sandro Távora, from the 2nd DP, in Bom Retiro, records the fact that the police officers “strangely, at night and without a search and seizure warrant, entered the location”. He says, in the document, that it is “essential that any excesses be analyzed by the Judiciary”.
The two police officers said that they were in front of the building when they approached the three suspects, and went to the location afterwards. They claim that the building manager questioned their presence, and that they responded that they were there to check the apartment.
A Sheet building manager Maria de Lurdes, 67, said that the police officers entered without saying a word and ignored her complaints. “I said to them: ‘What is this? Is this mother Joana’s house, by any chance?’, But they didn’t even look at my face,” she said. “They do that [entrar sem mandado] directly here, since the beginning of the year.
A 24-year-old self-employed saleswoman, who has lived in the building for about a year, told the reporter that military police also entered her apartment without a warrant about two weeks ago, and claims that this practice has become recurring since February.
In a note, on Wednesday (24), the Security Secretariat stated that analysis of the cameras on the police officers’ uniforms showed that the residents authorized their entry into the property. “All circumstances relating to the facts are investigated through a Military Police Inquiry (IPM).”
Mbaye fell from the 6th floor after police officers entered the apartment where he was staying. According to the police report, the salesman Bara Ndiaye said he was in apartment 609 with him to repair his phone which had a charging defect. When the police knocked on the apartment door, according to the seller, Mbaye “went to the window and called him to come along.”
While Mbaye went ahead and went through the window, leaning on a marquee, Ndiaye was leaning on the sill when he was captured. The seller said that, after that, he heard one of the police officers say that the immigrant had fallen. Ndiaye was arrested on suspicion of participating in a scheme to sell stolen cell phones.
