A vigil for Daphne Caruana Galizia on Wednesday paid tribute to the murdered journalist's mother, who died earlier this month without seeing justice for her daughter.

NGO Repubblika vice president Alessandra Dee Crespo said Rose Vella never spoke in public and never wrote social media posts or articles, but her voice was nonetheless strong and she was a pillar in the fight for justice.

"She never told us how to do things but showed us the way," Dee Crespo told fellow activists.

"It is an injustice on top of another injustice that Mrs Vella did not get to see justice for her daughter because this country not only takes away your rights, but it also ridicules you for fighting to get them back.

"I don't know about you but right now I imagine Mrs Vella sitting next to her daughter making up for the last six years that they stole from them."

Rose Vella, right, and her husband, Michael at a vigil last year in memory of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Photo: Times of MAlta

Rose Vella died on August 3 following an illness.

The vigil on Wednesday marked the 70th month since Caruana Galizia's assassination in 2017 and the first one without her mother, who would be present with her husband and other activists for the vigils and events organised as part of the fight for justice.

A mother of four who lived in Sliema throughout her life, Vella found herself thrust into national prominence following her daughter’s assassination outside her Bidnija home on October 16, 2017.

She had previously testified that the worry and tension over her daughter's work often caused her health problems and frequent stays in hospital.

"She would go everywhere with us whenever her health permitted it," Dee Crespo told the crowd. "In court, in Bidnija, during the vigils, in front of parliament and wherever we would gather to fight for justice. She would be there, right beside her husband Michael, and she would walk with us in the streets and stand with us... or more accurately, we stood with her."

Michael Vella with one of his daughters and grandchildren. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Human rights lawyer Therese Comodini Cachia also addressed the vigil, saying that as cruel as it may sound, Caruana Galizia's assassination motivated civil society to stand up and join the fight.

"The support to Jean Paul Sofia’s family in their call for a public inquiry, support which came from all corners, is evidence that the voice of civil society is much stronger now than it was before Daphne’s assassination," she said.

"But we cannot be happy with our achievements yet. Our work isn’t ready. The path forged on Daphne’s death for a better future for Malta has been charted, but the path has not been followed yet."

The vigil is held on the 16th of each month. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Repubblika member Vicki Ann Cremona said the country is going through a leadership crisis and is lacking wise, just and moderate politicians of integrity.

She said the educational system is not doing enough to foster a new generation of leaders who possess qualities such as critical thinking.