By Omar Bah
Human rights activist Madi Jobarteh has urged the government to summon the German ambassador over the reported shooting of a Gambian in Germany.
In a tragic incident on Saturday, German police shot and killed Lamin Touray, 46, a Gambian residing in Nienburg, Germany. Mr Touray’s death prompted widespread condemnation from Gambians. The government through the ministry of information, issued a statement announcing it has launched an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragic incident.
But according to Madi Jobarteh, the first thing the Gambian foreign minister should have done was to summon the German ambassador to his office to raise initial concerns and demand answers.
“This is what I expected the press release to tell Gambians first and foremost,” Jobarteh said.
He said the German police should have the capacity and resources to restrain a man with a knife without taking his life with multiple shots.
“Their action is therefore an act of police brutality and disregard for the fundamental rights of the victim. If the victim were a white German man, surely the police would have acted more professionally and saved his life. So let The Gambia government not give us that usual general statement about investigating. Have they summoned the German ambassador? Have they engaged the German police? Surely if it was a German shot to death in Banjul, we would have seen such actions from the German authorities. Gambian lives matter,” he added.
Also, commenting on the shooting, Banjul mayor Rohey Lowe urged the government to intervene and contact the German authorities to know the circumstances surrounding Touray’s death and to take the appropriate measures.
