Memorial Event Dedicated To Lassana Cisse In The Works As Body Finally Set For Repatriation
The final preparations to repatriate the body of murdered Lassana Cisse are underway as a memorial event is also in the works.
Three years after Cisse’s racially-motivated murder shined a light on xenophobia on the island, the island’s authorities are in contact with Cisse’s family in the Ivory Coast with the repatriation set to happen in the coming days, a government source confirmed with Lovin Malta.
Aside from the repatriation, a memorial event dedicated to the murdered man will be held, with the “final preparations” currently underway.
Find out more about Lassana Cisse in Lovin Malta’s feature below:
The 42-year-old father of three was gunned down on 6th April 2019.
Cisse was killed after being shot by two off-duty soldiers while walking home on a Ħal Far road after watching a football match with some friends.
The Maltese government had offered to pay the costs associated with repatriating Cisse’s body so that he could receive a proper burial in his home country, the Ivory Coast.
However, three years later and his body remains at the Mater Dei morgue.
Cisse’s body was released for burial by the courts in January 2020 and was set to make the long journey back home to Kuomassi, in the Ivory Coast’s south Abidjan region.
That year, the government had told Lovin Malta that it was committed to paying for Cisse’s body to be returned home, with former Foreign Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo saying that the government would also pay for a person to accompany the body.
Are you keen to see the repatriation happen three years on?
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