By: Foday Manneh
The family of a young Gambian reported killed by the Brazilian police in São Paulo is demanding that the Gambia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs takes appropriate action to address the matter.
“This is to request your government to take immediate steps towards addressing the heinous crime committed by the Brazilian police against a citizen of The Gambia,” the family said in a letter sent to the Ministry and seen by TAT.
Bubacarr Dukureh was reportedly shot and killed by Police officers in Jardim Paulista, West of São Paulo, Brazil, on 15 September 2022.
The São Paulo Police Ombudsman’s Office had asked the Civil Police and PM’s Internal Affairs Office in October 2022 “to investigate the conduct of military officers involved in the killing of Gambian immigrant Dukureh.”
According to Dukureh’s family, the testimonies provided by the military officers, along with the documents presented by the Brazilian police, “show many inconsistencies, including lacking more detailed information about why they shot our dear relative.”
The family also demanded it, but the Brazilian police did not find any camera footage in the region to show the scene of the incident. Moreover, the policeman who shot Dukureh did not use a camera attached to his uniform.
“However, we were informed that the regional business owners have provided their camera records to the police as required.”
In the family’s letter, Dukureh’s relatives described his “killing” as “a gross error because it was only reported at 00:59 am on the following day, and as a consequence, he was sent to the hospital as an unidentified person”.
“In light of these injustices, we urge our government, with a heavy heart, to support us during this mourning time, and seek answers that could honor Bubacarr’s memory and allow his soul to Rest In Peace.”
Until his death, Bubacarr Dukureh lived in brazil since 2014 and married a Brazilian wife three years after he arrived in the country. They have a three-year old son.
