Four years after Ivorian Lassana Cisse was murdered in 2019 today, justice has still not been served and the suspects are out on bail, 44 voluntary organisations said in a joint statement.

24-year-old Cisse was shot and killed in Birżebbuġa in a racially motivated attack, where two other victims Ibrahim Bah and Mohammed Jallow were also left for dead. The two suspects were identified as off-duty Armed Forces of Malta soldiers, who allegedly targeted the victims because of their skin colour.

Just a few months before, the same two perpetrators deliberately ran over May Malimi, a young man from Chad, while he was also walking in Birżebbuġa. 

The organisations note that the heinous act was intended to terrorise and instil fear within the black migrant community.

The self-confidence of the two suspects was fueled by years of political rhetoric and inhumane immigration policies that suggested that migrants of colour and black migrants may be treated as inferior people.

For far too long, political discourse and punishing policies have fanned the flames of racial prejudice, while others have condoned such discrimination through their deafening silence, they said.

They insisted that the government needs to stress that racism and prejudice will not be tolerated.

“Only then can we start to see real change in the public and private sectors. The government must demonstrate its commitment to ensuring that justice is served and that such acts of racial violence will not go unpunished.

“Words are simply not enoug. Whilst the launch of the anti-racism strategy is a step in the right direction, real change requires a transparent review of all structures, policies and social norms, and a concerted effort to address systemic racism at its roots,” the organisations said.

aditus foundation has compiled a timeline of the known instances of institutional neglect and racialised violence that records Malta’s long and shameful history in its treatment of migrants and asylum-seekers that have reached Malta since 2002. 

The killing of Lassana is a tragic reminder that we must continue to fight against all forms of racism and bigotry. We stand in solidarity with the family and friends of Lassana, the other three victims, and all those who have been affected by racial violence, the organisations said.