By Dawda Jallow
The Bursubi Magistrate’s Court has appointed Magistrate Mamsamba Jallow as Coroner to conduct a formal inquest into the death of Senegalese social media personality Kalidou Diallo, popularly known online as “L’Homme de Ziguinchor.”
Diallo died on Aug. 15 following a Drug Law Enforcement Agency of The Gambia (DLEAG) operation at Lobo Apartments in Kerr Serign.
The inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding his death amid conflicting accounts of what occurred during the operation.
According to DLEAG, its officers went to the apartment following intelligence concerning suspected drugs on the premises. Director General Demba Ceesay said officers encountered two Senegalese men, aged between 20 and 21.
Ceesay said one of the men panicked and fled through a back door, sustaining injuries after falling. The second man was arrested, he said, while officers later discovered the injured individual and took him to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
DLEAG also reported recovering suspected drugs from the premises.
However, an eyewitness, Bai Modou, gave a different account during an interview with journalist VM Trawally, alleging that Diallo had been tortured by DLEAG officers.
Conflicting claims have also circulated on social media over whether Diallo fell from a balcony or was assaulted before his death.
Ceesay has strongly denied allegations of assault or torture, saying DLEAG has “nothing to hide” and is cooperating with the ongoing police investigation.
He also cautioned against treating unverified accounts as established facts, stressing that an opinion “cannot replace facts.”
With the appointment of Magistrate Jallow as Coroner, the circumstances surrounding Diallo’s death will now be examined through a formal judicial inquest.
The process is intended to establish the facts surrounding the death, including the identity of the deceased, when and where the death occurred and how it happened.
The Registrar’s Office at the Bursubi Magistrate’s Court has invited members of the public with relevant information or testimony to submit written statements to assist the Coroner’s investigation.
The inquest is separate from the police investigation and is not intended to determine criminal guilt or innocence. Rather, the Coroner will consider testimony and other evidence to establish the circumstances surrounding Diallo’s death.
Diallo’s death has attracted considerable attention in The Gambia and Senegal, with tributes and expressions of mourning from his large social media following.
The inquest now provides a formal avenue for the conflicting accounts surrounding his death to be examined through evidence and testimony.