Outrage after Lassana Cisse murder accused walks free

The acquittal of Lorin Scicluna over the murder of Lassana Cisse has prompted angry reactions from civil society figures, academics and activists, with renewed questions about Malta’s justice system and institutional accountability.

Matthew Caruana Galizia was among the first to react, drawing a parallel with the acquittal of Yorgen Fenech, who had been accused of masterminding the 2017 assassination of his mother journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

“Another acquittal of someone blatantly complicit in murder. Is the government happy? What does the minister of justice want us to do, buy guns and take justice into our own hands? End the jury system NOW,” he wrote on Facebook.

Fenech was acquitted of complicity and conspiracy in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder by an eight-to-one jury majority. The two verdicts have brought renewed scrutiny to the role of juries in Malta’s most consequential criminal trials.

Andre Callus of Moviment Graffitti also expressed outrage, warning that Malta was losing its sense of justice.

“Corruption has penetrated far too deeply. At the same time, we have a government that boasts about being tough on the weakest members of society because they are ‘foreigners’. The person who killed a Black man walks free. A country that forgets where justice belongs ends up consuming itself,” he said. “For our sake and that of our children, we have every reason to be alarmed, to look carefully in the mirror and ask ourselves whether we like what we have become. Before it is too late.”

“Lassana, forgive us, although we do not deserve it,” his post concluded.

Lecturer Maria Pisani, meanwhile, described feeling stunned and angry after the verdict, followed by a profound sense of sadness.

“I went to bed stunned and angry. I woke up with a heavy sense of sadness, and I suspect I am not alone. Justice has once again not been served, and there is an awful, corrupting truth in this – a reality that strips one of hope and the belief in the basic decency of humanity. It is a horrible feeling,” she wrote.

Pisani recalled the days following Cisse’s murder, describing how a friend had told her that people in Ħal Far already knew who was responsible.

According to the account relayed to her, two months before the killing, a friend of the caller had been knocked down in a hit-and-run incident involving two men in a white car. The same men were allegedly targeting refugees living in Ħal Far.

She said the friend had also told her that when May Malimi was taken to hospital, he explained what had happened, but no follow-up action was taken.

Pisani described this as one in a long list of institutional failures, pointing to the hospital authorities, police, army, judiciary and the State.

She also criticised the army’s internal inquiry into the allegations, which reported finding no evidence of racism within its ranks.

For Pisani, the case cannot be separated from what she described as decades of institutional racism and a racial contract that preserves systemic privileges for white Maltese people.

She also reflected on the human dimension of the trial, recalling sitting in court during the compilation of evidence beside the mother of one of the accused. “She was sobbing, clasping on to her rosary beads. At that moment I felt such pain for her, I touched her leg in an effort to convey compassion for a woman who was broken.”

Facebook post uploaded by Maria Pisani

Pisani questioned whether jurors might also have felt compassion for the accused, describing him as a young man whose life had been damaged by acts of cruelty in his youth.

But she stressed that compassion for the accused must not eclipse the victims and their families.

“Where is the compassion for Lassana, his family and loved ones? For May, Ibrahim and Mohamed? Where is the justice? Where is institutional accountability?” she asked.

Pisani also highlighted the mistrust felt by refugees living in Ħal Far, arguing that they had been aware of what was happening but had not reported it earlier because they did not trust the institutions meant to protect them.

The verdict, she suggested, had vindicated those fears.

“The government has failed. The State has failed. Citizenship requires of us to demand accountability and for justice to be seen to be done. It’s time for everyone to step up,” she concluded.

Cisse, an Ivorian national, was shot dead in Ħal Far on 6 April 2019. Prosecutors argued that the attack was racially motivated. The acquittal of Scicluna has once again brought questions of racism, institutional responsibility and public confidence in Malta’s justice system to the fore.

Momentum demands answers from Attorney General

Political party Momentum also condemned the verdict, saying Malta’s judicial system had failed both Cisse and the wider public.

“Lassana Cisse deserved justice. Malta’s judicial system failed us all,” the organisation said.

Momentum recalled that Cisse, a father of two, was shot dead while walking home in Ħal Far seven years ago, while three other men were also attacked. It said that, following Scicluna’s acquittal, nobody had been held responsible for Cisse’s murder.

The party highlighted testimony given during the trial, including the accused’s admission that he had driven the car that night, that its number plates had been removed and that the occupants’ phones had deliberately been left behind. It also pointed to testimony that the accused and his companion had previously driven around Ħal Far “looking for black people” to harass.

Momentum questioned how the prosecution had failed to establish criminal responsibility despite these admissions and called on the Attorney General to explain how the case had been prepared and presented.

It also drew parallels with the acquittal of Yorgen Fenech, arguing that both cases raised questions about the ability of Malta’s institutions to establish the full chain of responsibility in serious crimes.

The organisation further questioned why it had taken seven years for the Cisse case to reach a jury, arguing that prolonged delays risk weakening evidence and leaving victims’ families without answers.

“How can citizens expect fair judgement when murders in this country take years to reach court, only to end with nobody held to account? A system that cannot deliver justice for Lassana Cisse cannot promise it to anyone,” said Momentum general secretary Mark Camilleri Gambin.

Repubblika calls for independent examination of justice system

NGO Repubblika expressed anger, disappointment and profound concern at the jury’s decision to acquit Scicluna of Cisse’s murder and the attempted murder of three other people.

The organisation said it respected the court’s verdict but disagreed with it, adding that, in light of the evidence and testimony presented during the trial, it found the outcome extremely difficult to understand.

Repubblika warned that Malta’s justice system had once again failed to provide a satisfactory answer to a murder that had shocked the country's conscience.

It raised concerns about whether the identity of victims could influence the administration of justice, asking whether skin colour, national origin, social standing or the perception that certain victims deserve less sympathy were affecting judicial outcomes.

“This is a terrible question for a democracy to have to ask. But failing to ask it would be worse,” the NGO said.

Repubblika stressed that its criticism was not directed at individual state officials, police officers, prosecutors or members of the judiciary who carried out their duties with integrity. However, it argued that this should not prevent a wider examination of institutional shortcomings.

It called for a public, independent and rigorous review of the administration of justice, including appointments, recruitment, management, resources and the structures of the police, prosecution services and courts. It also insisted that those leading these institutions must be held accountable for their performance.

The organisation emphasised its position was not a call to disregard the presumption of innocence or convict people without evidence, but rather a demand for institutions capable of investigating and prosecuting serious crimes in a way that inspires public confidence.

Remembering Cisse as a father of two who had been walking home after watching a football match, Repubblika said his life was worth as much as that of any other person.

It also noted that proceedings against another person accused in connection with the murder remained pending and that his presumption of innocence must be respected.

“Seven and a half years after the killing, Lassana’s family is still waiting for justice,” it said.

“Our country treated Lassana cruelly when he was alive. And it continues to fail him in death.

“This shame belongs to all of us. And we cannot accept it as normal.”