Legal-status note: Lorin Scicluna and Francesco Fenech are accused, not convicted, in this case. Both pleaded not guilty. This archive describes the prosecution’s racial-motive theory as an allegation and does not present it as an established judicial finding.
A father walking home
Lassana Cisse Souleymane was 42, an Ivorian national and the father of three children. On the evening of 6 April 2019, he had watched a football match in Birżebbuġa and was walking in the direction of the Ħal Far open centre. Civil-society commemorations and Maltese reporting describe him as part of a community of migrants who routinely used the poorly lit road between the settlement and nearby towns.
Near Triq tal-Ġebel, Cisse was shot and killed. Two other African men—identified in court reporting as Ibrahim Bah and Mohammed Jallow—were shot and wounded during the same sequence. They survived. Contemporary evidence reported from the compilation proceedings says the shots were fired from a moving vehicle; the exact criminal responsibility for the attack remains for a jury to determine.
The distinction between the three men matters. Cisse lost his life, while Bah and Jallow lived with the physical and psychological consequences of the same episode. Their cases form one event and are treated here as a single file, not split into separate pages to inflate the archive.
Investigation and arrests
The killing generated public alarm because investigators examined whether it was an attack selected on racial grounds rather than an encounter arising from a prior dispute. Police work led to the arrest of two Armed Forces of Malta soldiers, Lorin Scicluna and Francesco Fenech. They were arraigned on 19 May 2019, a date also recorded in Malta’s submission to the United Nations human-rights review process.
Prosecutors charged the two men with Cisse’s murder, the attempted murder of Bah and Jallow and related firearm offences. Both entered not-guilty pleas. Reporting from the first court hearings described survivor identification evidence, vehicle evidence and testimony about the route. Each element was presented during the compilation of evidence—the Maltese pre-trial process used to decide whether the prosecution has enough material for an indictment and eventual jury trial.
Authorities have alleged a racial motive. That theory is central to the public significance of the case, but it remains a prosecution allegation. Neither an arrest, an indictment nor a pre-trial evidentiary ruling is a conviction. The accused retain the presumption of innocence throughout the pending proceedings.
The court record and bail
During 2019 and 2020, Magistrates’ Court hearings gathered testimony from the surviving men, investigators and other witnesses. MaltaToday’s court coverage documented competing accounts and challenges to parts of the evidence. The purpose of this phase was not to deliver a final verdict but to preserve and test enough material to send the case forward.
In December 2019, the court granted bail to both accused under conditions. Public reaction was intense, particularly among anti-racism groups and people close to Malta’s migrant communities. Legally, however, bail did not dismiss the charges and did not amount to an acquittal. It regulated the defendants’ liberty while the prosecution continued.
By 2021 the prosecution had finished presenting its compilation evidence. The file was expected to proceed toward indictment and trial by jury. Yet the transition from the preparatory stage to a final trial became the defining issue of the case. Anniversary reporting repeatedly returned to the same unresolved point: the allegations had not been adjudicated.
Seven years without a trial
On 6 April 2026, seven years after Cisse’s death, Times of Malta and MaltaToday reported that the jury trial still had not begun. The accused remained on bail, and campaigners said the prolonged delay compounded the harm to Cisse’s family, the two survivors and communities that had understood the shooting as a warning about racist violence.
The delay is not evidence that either defendant is guilty, nor does it erase the presumption of innocence. It is independently significant because criminal proceedings serve several groups at once: the deceased person’s family, injured survivors, defendants entitled to a fair hearing, and a public entitled to transparent justice. A case can fail all of them when serious allegations remain suspended for years without a verdict.
Cisse’s remains were repatriated to Ivory Coast in July 2022, more than three years after the killing. The late repatriation added another painful interval for his family. Maltese civic groups have continued to hold memorials, while European anti-racism monitoring has cited the case within a broader examination of hate crime and discrimination in Malta.
What the case does—and does not—establish
Several facts are securely documented: Cisse was killed on 6 April 2019; Bah and Jallow were wounded; Scicluna and Fenech were arraigned on 19 May 2019; both pleaded not guilty; both received bail in December 2019; and the trial had not started by the seventh anniversary. Those points appear across court reporting and official human-rights documentation.
Other propositions remain allegations. The prosecution says the shooting was racially motivated and attributes criminal responsibility to the two accused. Until a jury returns verdicts, this archive will not describe either man as Cisse’s murderer, will not state that motive as proved, and will not infer guilt from military service, bail conditions or public criticism.
The legal outcome could also be affected by evidence not yet tested publicly at trial, evidentiary rulings, or later appeals. This page therefore records the latest verified procedural position rather than predicting a conviction or acquittal.
Timeline
- 6 April 2019
Lassana Cisse is killed near Ħal Far; Ibrahim Bah and Mohammed Jallow are wounded. - 19 May 2019
Lorin Scicluna and Francesco Fenech are arraigned on murder, attempted-murder and related charges. Both plead not guilty. - December 2019
The court grants both accused bail under conditions. - 2020–2021
Witness and investigative evidence continues during the compilation proceedings; prosecutors complete their presentation in 2021. - July 2022
Cisse’s remains are repatriated to Ivory Coast. - 6 April 2026
Seventh-anniversary reporting says the jury trial has still not begun.
Current status
As of the last source review on 29 September 2026, the latest accessible reporting located for this file continued to describe the case as awaiting trial. No final verdict was verified. The classification is therefore pending / unresolved, not solved and not adjudicated.
The central unanswered questions are legal rather than speculative: when the indictment will be tried, which evidence a jury will accept, whether the alleged racial motive will be proved beyond reasonable doubt, and what remedy—if any—will follow for the prolonged delay.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Lassana Cisse?
Lassana Cisse Souleymane was a 42-year-old father of three from Ivory Coast who lived in Malta and was walking toward the Ħal Far open centre when he was shot and killed on 6 April 2019.
Were other people injured?
Yes. Ibrahim Bah and Mohammed Jallow were shot and wounded during the same sequence. They survived and later gave evidence during the compilation proceedings.
Who has been charged?
Former Armed Forces of Malta soldiers Lorin Scicluna and Francesco Fenech were arraigned on 19 May 2019 on murder and attempted-murder charges. Both pleaded not guilty and are presumed innocent unless convicted.
Has a racial motive been proved?
Prosecutors allege that the attack was racially motivated. That allegation has not yet been tested to a final verdict because the jury trial had not begun by 6 April 2026.
Why is the case still classified as pending?
The prosecution completed the compilation of evidence in 2021, but reviewed reporting marking the seventh anniversary in April 2026 said no trial date had been set.
Does bail mean the case was dismissed?
No. Both accused were granted bail in December 2019 under conditions imposed by the court. Bail is a pre-trial status and does not decide guilt or innocence.