linksunten Archiv

Gambian authorities on Wednesday opened an investigation into the death of a Guinean national while being interrogated by the police, officials say.

The Guinean national, whose full details have not been released was arrested from his home and while being investigated, he started shaking and fell to the ground unconscious.

Ebrima, 72, was rushed to the Faji Kunda hospital where he was pronounced dead by a medical staff.

Gambia’s police spokesperson, Foday Conta confirmed Ebrima’s death in custody and denied any maltreatment by the police.

“The deceased was said to have been allegedly engaged in blackmailing his neighbors at Faji-kunda and when the police received a report on the accusation, he got arrested,” Conta said.

Ebrima’s extended family members spoke with investigators from the Criminal Investigation Department of the police, who are leading the probe to ascertain the cause of his death.

The police are waiting on the approval of the deceased’s family to conduct a postmortem as part of the ongoing investigation.

Ebrima has no immediate family in The Gambia, according to the police, who have kept his remains at the morgue. He was involved in a scuffle over money with Ahmed Samba Kah, a 21-year-old petty trader, who reported him to the police.