The body of Lassana Cisse is yet to return home and be granted a proper burial, a year on from the shocking Ħal Far murder.

However, the Maltese government has since told Lovin Malta that it is committed to paying for Lassana Cisse Souleymane’s body to return home.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Evarist Bartolo explained that the Ministry would even pay for a person to accompany the coffin. He said that they were still waiting for an answer from Lassana’s family before proceeding.

The reason behind the delay remains unclear. Lassana’s family are desperately waiting for his return to the Ivory Coast, with the COVID-19 pandemic creating a major stumbling block.

Cisse’s body is still in Malta and his family are still waiting for his repatriation. They have been told that by Ivorian community leaders in Malta that Cisse will likely return once COVID-19 measures are lifted.

Lassana’s body was released for burial by the courts in January 2020. He was set to make the long journey back home to Kuomassi, in the Ivory Coast’s south Abidjan region.

However, three months later, Lassana’s family are still waiting for him to finally be laid to rest.

After months of waiting, Lassana’s mother has returned back to Mali. His two children have done the same and have gone back to their mothers.

Sources explained that the repatriation of a murder victim is often a difficult and bureaucratic task.

Issues like financing, location of the burial, and claims to the body often create various stumbling blocks. However, it seems that in this case all of the pieces are already in place.

His body is believed to still be within Malta’s morgue at Mater Dei. Questions sent to the Health Ministry were unanswered by the time of publication.

With most flights effectively closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a family’s wait to be reunited with their loved one will continue.

Lassana was gunned down on 6th April 2019, in what is believed to be the first racially-motivated murder in Maltese history.

Former AFM soldiers Franceso Fenech (21) and Lorin Scicluna (22) are suspected of murdering Lassana in a drive-by shooting at around 11pm. Two more migrants were also shot at on the night, they luckily survived.

The two former soldiers are currently out on bail and are awaiting trial.

To hear more about the case, check out ‘Lassana’, Lovin Malta’s  15-minute documentary about a man who moved to Malta in search of a new life and the devastating effects his murder left on his family back at home.

The documentary includes interviews with Lassana’s grieving relatives and friends back in the Ivory Coast, along with the two survivors who were metres away from him on that fateful April night.