Friends of Lassana Cisse Souleymane, killed two years ago in a racially-motivated shooting, paid tribute to him during a brief flower-laying event on Tuesday held at the site where he was murdered.

During the event, organised by NGO Moviment Graffitti and friends of Cisse, Ousmane Dicko repeated his plea to authorities to return Lassana’s body back to his family in the Ivory Coast.

“Lassana’s mother is still waiting for her son’s body. I’m getting calls from Lassana’s mother all the time, I don’t even know what I can tell her anymore,” Dicko, an Ivorian community leader, said.

The government gave Cisse's family a written commitment in March 2020 that it would return his body to his home country, but nothing has been done since then. 

Graffitti activist Christine Cassar spoke of “the great tragedy” that occurred on Triq il-Ġebel in Ħal Far on April 6, 2019.

“Lassana was killed aimlessly, he was just minding his own business walking down this very street. Him and the two others that were targeted were just walking home after a football match,” Cassar said.

“Those involved in this killing were given bail the same year the murder occurred, and are still enjoying their lives to this day after ending Lassana’s simply because he was black,” she added.

Graffitti activist Christine Cassar lighting candles at the event. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

The two former AFM soldiers accused of killing Cisse, Francesco Fenech and Lorin Scicluna, were granted bail in December of 2019, after being held in preventive arrest for about eight months. They are pleading not guilty to murder charges.

In the brief commemoration, Graffitti activist Andre’ Callus explained how Triq il-Ġebel had already been a known hot-spot for racist attacks.

“We used to see people throwing rocks and spitting at migrants who often walk this road, as well as hear of regular beatings in the area,” Callus said.

“We were all terrified that this violent, racist killing, the first one that ever occurred, would be a repetition of other racist attacks we were aware of, and that there would be no justice,” Callus said.

Callus pointed out that while it was positive that Cisse’s killing had been investigated straight away, Malta has a lot of work left to do in terms of “acknowledging the problem of racism in this country.”

“This was not just a murder, this was Malta’s first terrorist attack, a killing meant to instil terror in all Africans living in Malta. We must understand the environment in which racism thrives and flourishes, and take steps to address it directly,” Callus said.

“The people who shot Lassana did so because they thought they could do something like that with impunity, because of political rhetoric which suggests that migrants and foreigners can be treated as inferiors,” Callus stated.

He then mentioned that although challenges related to migration need to be considered, Malta should not abdicate its responsibility in creating a fair society for all.

“This is why our message is not just to condemn this murder but also to ask for the participation of everyone in building a society where everyone is treated equally,” he said.