MUHAMMED S. BAH
Saidou Bah father of 17 year old Ismaila Bah killed during the Faraba Banta incident, has demanded immediate justice from the Government of the day and urged them to investigate and find the root cause of how his son died.
Saidou who spoke to this reporter at the Mortuary in Banjul, urged the Government of Adama Barrow to intervene and ensure that the perpetrators of this heinous crime on his son, are brought to book.
“Government should take this matter seriously and urgently. The PIU murdered innocent youth who were unarmed,” Saidou said.
Saidou said the PIU could have used better strategies to disperse the protesters instead of guns and live ammunitions.
“If you see where my son was lying on the ground, you will be shocked because he was shot right on the chest and was resting in a pool of his own blood,” Saidou said amid sobs.
Explaining how his son got involved, Saidou said in the morning of Monday June 18th 2018 at around 10 am, he saw his son joining his fellow protesters when he left the compound.
“I asked him where he was going and he responded that he was going to show solidarity with the people of the village,” he said; that after a while, he had gunshots and decided to see for himself, what was happening; that he met with Ismaila’s Younger brother, who was running towards the compound and crying; that the younger brother then told him that Ismaila was shot dead and lying in a pool of blood; that he rushed to the scene and found that he was gasping his last breaths; that the late Ismaila was later put in a vehicle and transported to Brikama, but died before reaching the hospital.
The father of the deceased said some National Assembly Members came to visit them at the mortuary and assured them of their support.
Saidou told this reporter that he was told at the hospital to go back until the following day today, when he can receive the lifeless body of his son for burial.
‘‘We are in a democracy but it doesn’t mean whatever people in power want, they can do,” he said; that Ismaila is his first child, and was very supportive to the family; that Ismaila was learning the holy Quran and his death is really a great loss to the family, most particularly, to him.
