Lassana Cisse deserved justice. Malta’s judicial system failed us all.

Momentum expresses its deep concern at the outcome of the trial over the killing of Lassana Cisse.

Seven years ago, a father of two was shot dead while walking home in Ħal Far. Three other men were attacked. Today, nobody has been held responsible.

The accused told the court he drove the car that night, that the car’s number plates were removed and that their phones were left behind on purpose. He told the court that he and his companion had previously driven around Ħal Far “looking for black people” to harass.

A jury has given its verdict, but Maltese citizens have every right to ask how a case with these admissions ended with no one answering for a man’s murder.

What is the punishment in Malta for deliberately running someone over? Is removing a number plate treated more seriously than one life lost and three more put at risk? The jury was told that shared intent could amount to complicity.

Why was the prosecution unable to prove it? The Attorney General owes the public an explanation of how this case was built and presented.

The acquittal of Lorin Scicluna inevitably brings back memories of the Yorgen Fenech case. Both cases raise important questions about the ability of our institutions to establish the full chain of responsibility, particularly when defendants acknowledge significant connections to the people and circumstances surrounding the crimes but deny responsibility for the murders.

We must also ask the question many are already asking. Why did it take seven years for this case to reach a jury? Over seven years, memories fade, evidence weakens and families are left waiting. Justice delayed this long is justice denied.

“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.

The pursuit of truth and accountability must never stop. The families of Lassana Cisse and Daphne Caruana Galizia deserve real justice and all law-abiding citizens deserve to live in a country that values justice. Malta’s justice system is broken and it must be fixed urgently.

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