By: Kebba Ansu Manneh & Alieu Ceesay
Scores of Gambian migration Activists have expressed their shock and utter dismay over the fatal shooting of one Lamin Touray, a Gambian migrant based in Hamburg, Germany, calling for thorough investigations to uncover the circumstances leading to his death.
Advocates who spoke to this medium told TAT that the deceased met his untimely death after engaging in a scuffle with his girlfriend, who filed a complaint to German Police for threatening her with a knife, noting that instead of acting professionally to disarm the deceased, the German Police resorted to shooting Mr. Touray multiple times leading to his demise.
Morro Yaffa, a Gambian Migrant Rights Activist based in Berlin, Germany, confirmed the story to TAT, saying the incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday, 30th March 2024, in Hamburg when Police raided his house to disarm him.
According to Yaffa, the deceased engaged in a scuffle with his girlfriend, who reported him to the Police after threatening her with a knife, adding that when German Police arrived at the scene to disarm the forty-six (46) years Gambian migrant, they ended up shooting him with eight rounds of bullets leading to his untimely death.
“It’s very unfortunate and shocking to learn the untimely death of our brother Lamin Touray, who was shot eight times by German Police. The information we gathered so far is that Lamin had issues with his girlfriend, who reported him to the Police and alleged that he threatened her with a knife. When police officers arrived at the scene, instead of acting professionally to disarm him, they shot him to death,” Morro Yaffa told TAT.
He added: “This is typical behavior of the German Police towards migrants, especially Blacks living in Germany because anytime migrants had issues, instead of Police acting professionally, they resort to using violence. We strongly condemn this fatal and gruesome killing of our brother and demand a full investigation of the circumstances leading to his untimely death.”
According to him, the deceased is already in the process of divorcing his wife and has not been working for a while, adding that he is also said to be struggling with mental issues, which may have resulted in the altercation with his girlfriend.
Ebrima Drammeh, another migrant rights activist based in Malta, also confirmed the development.
He told TAT the untimely death of Lamin Touray shocked the entire Gambian community in Germany and beyond, especially considering the victim is a breadwinner of his family who has been peacefully living and working in Germany for the past years.
According to him, the Gambian refugee community in Germany is making all efforts to uncover the truth behind the death of the deceased, adding that the community has sanctioned a meeting that is supposed to take place today to discuss the way forward for possible action toward the fatal shooting by the German Police.
“We call on The Gambian Government to take the matter into their hands and launch an investigation into this matter and action against any police officer involved in this callous shooting. We condemned the shooting in the strongest terms and equally call on the German Police to take action against their officers as this is not the first time German Police are subjecting Gambian citizens to such inhumane act,” Ebrima Drammeh told TAT.
Meanwhile, expressing her condolences, Mayor of Banjul Rohey Malick Lowe took to Facebook in a heartfelt video, stating, “It is with great shock that I learned of the death of a young Gambian, Mr. Lamin Touray. May his soul rest in peace. I extend my deepest condolences to his family and friends.”
Mayor Lowe further urged authorities to intervene, emphasizing, “I, please urge the Gambian government to contact the German authorities to know the circumstances surrounding his death and to take the appropriate measures.”
The tragic incident has profoundly affected Mayor Lowe and resonated with many Gambians, both within the country and abroad, demanding swift and transparent action.
