ay 23, October 2000

                     More than five years after his
                                    death

                  KORO'S FAMILY STILL AWAIT
                     POST-MORTEM REPORT





                 More than four months after the APRC government said it had
                 appended a post-mortem report on late Finance Minister Koro
                 Ceesay among its defence statement to the African
Commission on
                 Human and Peoples' Rights Sainey Ceesay the distraught
father of
                 Koro has claimed that he has not received such a report
despite a
                 promise by the government to that effect.

                 Mr. Ceesay who said he will always be interested in getting
to the
                 bottom of the mystery surrounding his son's death, said he
was
                 never aware of any post-mortem report about his 'late boy'
                 emanating from the government.

                 Mr. Ceesay claimed that news of the government's so-called
                 post-mortem report to the Commission reached him as a 'big
surprise'
                 invoking a sense of disbelief since according to him the
government
                 had been silent over the issue for a long time. He said
individuals
                 representing the state had told him that they would send
him any
                 post-mortem report after some investigation concerning his
late son
                 who was found burnt to death in his official vehicle in
June 1995. Mr.
                 Ceesay said following his son's funeral the then AFPRC
junta had
                 sent a delegation to his family with a 'firm promise' to
investigate the
                 incident, which claimed his son's life.

                 Mr. Ceesay pointed out that although he has written
'countless'
                 letters to the government reminding them of their promise,
he has
                 received no reply to inquiries about the way Koro Ceesay
died.
                 According to Mr. Ceesay who is a former primary school
                 headmaster, save for reports he had read from a local
newspaper,
                 suggesting that the government had issued a Koro-related
                 post-mortem report in its defence to the African Commission
against
                 ex- president Jawara's allegations of human rights abuses,
torture
                 and killing in The Gambia since 1994, he has not been
contacted by
                 the government over the issue since.

                 According to the African Commission on Human and Peoples'
                 Rights a post-mortem report on Koro Ceesay was tendered to
it by
                 the APRC government, claiming that the Finance Minister had
died
                 in an accident while using a state vehicle, which was found
burnt
                 beyond recognition near Jambur. It denied killing Koro as
alleged by
                 ex President Sir Dawda Jawara. The Commission had also
revealed
                 that another report on former AFPRC spokesman Sadibou
Hydara
                 had asserted that he died of high blood pressure.

                 Meanwhile Sainey Ceesay, sounding hoarse told The
Independent
                 that although the passing of his son four years ago is
irrevocable,
                 Koro's family would at least start to lay worrying thoughts
of his
                 death to rest, if they are told the truth surrounding the
incident.

                 As part of allegations tendered to the African Commission
on
                 Human and Peoples' Rights Sir Dawda Jawara, the former
Gambian
                 President had claimed that the military government had
'killed Koro'
                 and other Gambians who had fallen foul of the then
administration.
                 We were however unable to obtain a copy of the post mortem
report
                 from the African Commission.
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