Senegalese community raising support for daughters of slain woman

Members of the Senegalese community in Edmonton are rallying around two little girls who lost their mother this week in what police describe as a domestic violence death.

"It's a tragedy for us, for our community," said Mohamet Sall, with theAssociation Sngalaise d'Edmonton. "We are in shock."

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Bigue Ndao was found dead Monday afternoon in her apartment suite at 8725 96thAve. in Strathearn.

An autopsy showed the 33-year-old woman died of stab wounds.

Her estranged partner, and the father of her children, Ahamdo Bubba Mbaye, 41, has been charged with second-degree murder and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public.

Speaking in both French and English, Sall told CBC Thursday thatNdao came to Edmonton two years ago to "find a new life."

She wanted to build a better future for herself and her two girls, who are now seven and 10 years old, said Sall.

The girls are being cared for by friends of Ndao, he said.

Sall has visited the girls and said they are coping well.

Fundraising underway

The Senegalese community is trying to raise money to send Ndao's body back to Senegal,her home country, for burial, something Sall said is important.

Her family needs to see the body "to make the peace."If they do not see the body they cannot mourn, he said.

For people of Muslim faith, it is important to bury the dead as soon as possible, added Sall.

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up with a goal to raise $50,000 to pay for the burial, and support the girls, he said.

"The husband I don't know very well, I know he was in Fort McMurray, but I never saw him," Sall said.

People in the community who know Mbayedescribe him as a "guy who is quiet, when he speaks he speaks slowly," he said.

Ndao is the city's 11th homicide of the year.

Mbaye made his first court appearance Wednesday by video conferencing from the Edmonton Remand Centre. The case was adjourned until May 16 to give Mbaye time to get a lawyer.