By Sailu Bah
It is 49 days today since the 30 December 2013 insurgency which
resulted in the death of some people whose corpses are still said to
be kept in the mortuary at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital
(EFSTH) in Banjul.Visiting the mortuary yesterday, Monday, 16 February 2015, this
reporter observed the presence of armed soldiers who have been
guarding the place since after the incident last year. Access to the
road to the mortuary connecting Independence Drive and Marina Parade
by vehicles is restricted. The only vehicles that are allowed to pass
are the mortuary van and those owned by Gamtel which have an office
there, although, pedestrians are allowed to use the road to go about
their respective businesses.
However, a relative of Bakary Bojang, aka “Gosso”, the mentally ill
person who was said to have died in the incident, said their family is
still not allowed access to the corpse after several futile attempts.
He said they had hoped that the corpse would be given to them before
the 40th day after the death to enable them to bury it and observe the
charity in accordance with the Muslim religious rites. He revealed
that they had proceeded to observe the 40 days charity on Monday, 5
February, at the family residence at the junction of Gloucester Street
and Sam Jack Terrace in Banjul. “Relatives, neighbours and the friends
of “Gosso” who was well known were all around to witness the charity
which was very sorrowful,” said the grief stricken relative.
He concluded by making an appeal to the authorities to hand over the
corpse of their brother to the family for burial so that his worried,
grieving and sick mum would have a peace of mind.]]>
