The Deputy Spokesperson of The Gambia Police Force, Cadet ASP Muhammed Y. Darboe, has confirmed the death of the Bajonkoto Fajikunda Imam in a suspected suicide.

The incident reportedly happened on Friday morning, January 13, 2023, when the Imam was found in an incomplete building hanging with a rope tied to his neck.

"We received information about the Imam of Fiji Kunda involved in a suspected suicide in an incomplete building. So our Police officers visited the scene and confirmed it," ASP Darboe told TAT.

The PRO said the body is currently under their custody and will undergo all due processes to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.

"The body has been transported to the Banjul mortuary where pathologists will conduct some medical examinations and postmortem, and then we will follow up with more investigations to verify and know what caused the death," he added.

According to a residential source, the incident happened around the community football field, but the cause of death remains unknown to many, including the family of the Imam.

"It happened around the football field at Bajonkoto. People speculate that he must have been killed, and others say he committed suicide, so we can't confirm that for now," the source in Fajikunda told TAT.

"His family woke up in the morning and did not see him. It was the small boys playing at the field whose ball went into the house, and they eventually found him inside," he said.

The source, who confirmed that until his death, the Imam had been physically and mentally healthy, said the late Imam was a highly-respected individual within the community. However, Friday's incident left many in shock. Source: The Alkamba Times