Gambians are outraged at the killing of one of their fellow citizens, Momodou Lamin Sisay in Georgia, United States (U.S.).
The 39-year-old Sisay was reportedly shot dead by police who chased him for refusing to stop his car.
According to local media, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations said the shooting happened in Gwinnett County.
Gwinnett County police and Snellville police are said to be involved in the shooting, which occurred on Temple Johnson Road near Pate Road last Friday.
Snellville police claimed they were stopping a vehicle for a traffic violation around 4 a.m. which escalated to a police chase.
Eventually, the driver crashed his vehicle and when Snellville police attempted to arrest him, he allegedly started shooting at them. Officials say the suspect barricaded himself inside his car and pointed a gun out of the window.
A member of the Gwinnett County SWAT team fired at the suspect with first responders saying the suspect died at the scene.
The decease lived in the nearby town of Lithonia. He is the son of Lare Sisay, a Gambian diplomat who also worked for the United Nations Development Programme.
Family dispute police claim
But the family of Mr Sisay is disputing the account of the police in Georgia.
Sera Wadda, an Auntie to the victim was quoted by a Gambian local news outlet The Fatu Network as saying: “We want justice, we would want to know whatever they did until they killed the boy because what they are saying that he took out a gun is not true. We would need surveillance videos.”
“The boy was a humble man. Boy was religious, he was quiet and wouldn’t look anyone in the eye. He loved people and he was respectful,” she added from her base in Norway.
Meanwhile Gambians are planning a massive protests in front of the American embassy on Monday to express anger at the killing of Mr Sisay and George Floyd, another black man who was killed last week in Minneapolis.
Madi Jobarteh, a human rights activist said a permit to hold protest has been applied for.
“June 1st we applied for a permit to the Inspector General of Police to provide security for a peaceful assembly in front of the US Embassy on Kairaba Avenue. The protest is planned for Monday June 8 at 10:am. We will converge in silence,” he said.
Protests over Sisay’s death
Ebrima Jaiteh, a Gambian based in the USA also told Africa Feeds that “Enough is enough, we have to join” the protest to “show the Americans and the rest of the world that black lives matter.”
In a statement, The Gambia government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad has asked its Embassy in Washington DC to engage U.S. officials over the ongoing investigation into the death of Mr Sisay.
The statement said: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked the Gambian Embassy in Washington DC to engage the relevant U.S. authorities including the State Department to seek transparent, credible and objective investigation on the matter.
“Consequently, the Honourary Consul in Georgia and the Gambian Embassy in Washington DC are on the ground to support the family of the deceased and to also work with U.S. authorities in establishing circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Sisay.”
