Former financial crimes investigator Jonathan Ferris on Monday urged people to work hard to ensure that Daphne Caruana Galizia's sacrifice would not be in vain.

The former FIAU investigator was among the speakers at a vigil in Valletta attended by hundreds of people marking the sixth anniversary since the blogger's car bomb murder.

The vigil was held in front of Caruana Galizia's makeshift memorial opposite the law courts after Mass held in her memory. A vigil on the site of the bombing in Bidnija was held in the afternoon.

Ferris said that although he never met Caruana Galizia, she was one of the first to call him when he was dismissed from the FIAU. They were subsequently in frequent contact, up to a few days before the murder.

Earlier this month an industrial tribunal confirmed that Ferris had been discriminated against and unjustly dismissed from the FIAU and awarded him €20,000 compensation.

Jonathan Ferris speaking on Monday. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

"Six years have passed since that horrible moment, and all we can do is learn from the past and hope it never happens again,” Ferris said.

“All must do their part, the road is hard and long, and they will try to stop you, humiliate you, but you must continue moving forward,” he told the crowd.  

The vigil was organised by Rule of Law group Repubblika, Occupy Justice and manueldelia.com and was attended by, among others, Caruana Galizia's father and her three sons. Many of those present carried Maltese flags and photos of the slain journalists. Some placed flowers on the memorial.

Family members of Daphne Caruana Galizia stood at the front of the vigil. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Several members of the diplomatic corps attended, including diplomats from Ireland, Australia, the UK and the US Embassy were present for the vigil.  

The speakers at the vigil included an 11-year-old boy, Ethan Mifsud who recently won the Active and Responsible Citizenship Competition organised by Rule of Law NGO Repubblika. 

He earned applause as he described how Caruana Galizia taught him what integrity was and the importance of fighting for justice. 

Addressing himself to Caruana Galizia's sons Matthew, Andrew, Paul he said: "I do not know you and you don’t know me, but I learnt a lot about your mother, who taught me the importance of integrity.” 

He said their mother was an inspiration as she never stopped writing about the truth and fighting corruption. Integrity, he said, was about having the courage to fight for the truth, even when it went against what the majority did.  

"Your mother taught me the importance of integrity" Ethan Mifsud. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Repubblika president, Robert Aquilina said Caruana Galizia would never be forgotten and her words would never be silenced.  

“She was continuously insulted, and the institutions did everything to ensure that even people who never read a sentence written by her would hate her,” he said. 

“They did this for one reason, to stop her from shaming them.” 

Monday’s vigil was also addressed by Italian journalist Alessandro de Lisi, Occupy Justice activist Clemence Dujardin, journalist Christoph Schwaiger, Tom Gibson from the Committee to Protect Journalists and Chiara di Gaetano from Libera Assciazion Nomi e Numeri Contro le Mafie, and Slovakian journalist Karolina Farska.