By: Alieu Jallow
Buba Saul, a grieving father, has called for justice following a devastating road accident on the Kafuta highway that claimed the life of his 16-year-old daughter and left two other family members critically injured.
The tragic accident, which occurred on Saturday, January 4th, has shaken the community and sparked demands for accountability after a 30-year-old driver lost control of his vehicle and ran into jubilant football fans. The crash resulted in the untimely death of four promising young girls, with 24 others in critical condition at the Ndemban clinic.
Mr. Saul, in an emotional voice, described his daughter as very disciplined, pious, and expressed his deep sorrow over her loss.
“She was my close friend, she was hardworking, a good Muslim, with a high level of respect, and even at her funeral, everyone praised her. I will miss her,” he states.
In addition to the loss of his daughter, two of his daughters are currently hospitalized at the Ndemban clinic and undergoing treatment.
The grieving father is now demanding justice, calling on the authorities to investigate the incident thoroughly and hold those responsible accountable. As an experienced driver and mechanic, he described the incident as reckless, blaming police officers for turning a blind eye to certain vehicle faults.
“I can’t let this matter go in vain and seek justice because since the incident happened to date, none of the driver’s relatives has come to visit us, which is important, even though the driver is in custody. So how do you expect us to forgive such a person? Anyway, if others forgive, for me, I can’t forgive,” he says.
Ismaila Camara, a young volunteer whose two nephews and cousin were equally involved in the deadly accident, has been with the victims’ families since Saturday. He expressed disappointment over the medical attention given to the patients, citing the unavailability of a doctor to attend to some of the patients and the admission conditions.
“I had seen some patients who had fractures on their legs; they couldn’t have a bed, so they were sitting in wheelchairs for God knows how many hours. In fact, that very day, there were no doctors here. That’s what I heard. I didn’t confirm this, but I heard there was no doctor; they were only nurses here, and some critically injured patients were referred to Banjul for an x-ray. They went to Banjul, and after two hours, the ambulance came back. About five ambulances went to Banjul, each carrying two patients or so. They went to Banjul and came back because the x-ray machine wasn’t working there, so they said another x-ray machine would come from Kotu. But until the moment I left, the x-ray machine hadn’t arrived. To my total dismay, both Saturday and Sunday, there were no doctors. It was the weekend, probably, so no doctor came, and there was no medical treatment. Some patients had bandages worn on them in Brikama to protect against infection, but they had those bandages until today, Tuesday. So most of the critically injured were not even attended to; they might have been given painkillers or drips. They were all from Saturday night, Sunday, Monday, until this Tuesday morning when most of them started receiving treatment,” he asserts.
Mr. Saul praised Landing Jarju, the national team’s first-team medical doctor, who, according to him, was very supportive. He called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to expedite the investigation into the incident and ensure that justice is served, as he and his family seek justice, reminding everyone of the fragile nature of life and the need for accountability.
