After Body of Bissau-Guinean Girl Found Buried, Some Organs Removed, Catholic Leaders Urge Unity in “search for justice”

Bissau, 15 March, 2025 / 9:52 PM

Church officials in the Catholic Diocese of Bafatá in Guinea-Bissau are calling for unity in the “search for justice” after the body of a three-year-old missing girl was found buried, dismembered, and with some of her organs removed.

In a joint statement issued Wednesday, March 12, the Diocesan Administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Bafatá, Fr. Lúcio Brentegani, and the Vicar General of Bissau Diocese, Fr. Davide Sciocco, weigh in on the March 7 discovery.

A March 10 report has José Costa, a Bissau-Guinean government administrator providing details of the medical findings on the body of the girl. 

"According to the medical report, the child was without a kidney in the right part and without a heart," José Costa is quoted as saying about the dismembered body of the girl found São Domingos town that is located some 25 kilometers from the border between Guinea-Bissau and Senegal. 

"So far no one has been detained because of this sad case," José Costa further says about the girl, who had been reported missing on March 7 afternoon and whose dismembered body was discovered buried during the early hours of March 8.

José Costa adds that relevant government officials of São Domingos are "in permanent contact with the authorities of Senegal and Gambia" on the incident and calls for the collaboration of the residents of Tchetibinhin, where the parents of the girl live.

In their joint statement, Bafatá Diocesan Administrator and the Vicar General of Bissau Diocese express “sorrow and outrage” over the incident, describing it as a reflection of the “low level of humanity” in the tropical country on West Africa’s Atlantic coast. 

“We call on the authorities to act with firmness to identify and hold the perpetrators accountable,” they say, and add, “Life is a gift from God and belongs only to Him.”

The Catholic officials continued, “The Church reaffirms its commitment to protecting life and collaborating with society to ensure that children are loved, respected, and dignified, allowing them to flourish as the future of the nation.”

“It is essential that all the people and organizations who have sincerely expressed their horror and condemnation of what happened unite in the search for justice and in the fight against these crimes,” Fr. Lúcio and Fr. Davide emphasize. 

In the March 10 report, José Costa cautions against “false information about the arrest” of suspects of the crime, saying that such is misleading, when “we are talking about a painful subject for everyone."

The Bissau-Guinean Human Rights League is reportedly following the case and has indicated that the crime is related to human organ trafficking, the March 10 report indicates, adding that Guinea-Bissau’s judiciary police is also investing the incident.