A highly emotional state funeral is taking place in The Gambia for leading opposition activist Ebrima Solo Sandeng – nearly seven years after he was tortured to death by intelligence agents from former President Yahya Jammeh’s regime.
His wife Nyima Sonko sobbed as she walked behind the van carrying his body from the mortuary to the Arch 22 monument in the capital, Banjul, where Solo lay in state.
She was accompanied by their nine children and grandchildren, in a poignant reminder of the suffering that the family – and many other people, experienced during the authoritarian rule of Mr Jammeh.
Solo’s youngest child was two-years-old when he died.
Solo is hailed by many as The Gambia’s Steve Biko, a reference to South Africa’s renowned anti-apartheid activist who died in detention in 1977.
His body was wrapped in a mattress and buried in a detention facility after he was tortured to death about 48 hours after his arrest in April 2016.
A senior member of the opposition United Democratic Party, Solo was arrested after spearheading a peaceful protest calling for electoral reforms.
The protest was seen as a catalyst for the changes that swept through The Gambia, with Mr Jammeh defeated in elections in the same year and forced into exile.
The entire cabinet – except for President Adama Barrow – attended the funeral.
A group of activists staged a protest, carrying placards that read “Martyrs never die” and “Solo Sandeng lives”.
They complain that the reforms Solo died for have not yet been implemented.
