Three Years After Ħal Far Murder, Lassana Cisse’s Body Laid To Rest In Ivory Coast
The body of Lassana Cisse, the 42-year-old father of two who was gunned down on 6th April 2019, has finally been laid to rest in his home country of Ivory Coast.
His remains were sent to Ivory Coast by the Maltese state, and a family funeral took place on Saturday morning, attended by his mother and children.
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.
His 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.
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Plans for repatriation hit a snag with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges that brought with it.
Sources suggested that the reason the repatriation had not taken place was that Malta was still awaiting a request from Cisse’s family or the embassy in order to set the process in motion. However, Ivory Coast’s status as a Dark Red country has made travel extremely difficult.
Human rights activist Maria Pisani accompanied the remains together with a Foreign Affairs Ministry official.
Rest in peace