Kassi Manlan (1 December 1947 – November 20, 2001) was a

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

representative who was assassinated in

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

in 2001.

Career

Manlan was a citizen of

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

, but he resided in

Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's political capital. In la ...

, Burundi at the time of his assassination. He had earned a Doctorate of Medicine specializing in hepato-gastroenterology. From 1972 to 1995, he taught at the Faculty of Medicine in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

. During his career, he supervised about 40 doctoral theses in medicine, wrote over fifty medical articles/reports, helped train many doctors, and served as a senior physician in several hospitals. He was a consultant for the

(WHO), and joined the organization in 1995. From 1998 to 2001, he was responsible for the Development of Human Resources for Health unit in the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa. In 2001, three months before his death, he assumed the post of World Health Organization Representative in Burundi.

Death

The badly beaten body of Kassi Manlan was found in the shallows of

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika ( ; ) is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake. It is the world's List of lakes by volume, second-largest freshwater lake by volume and the List of lakes by depth, second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. ...

, near a sailing club, on November 20, 2001. He was killed when he discovered a scam that diverted aid money from the purchase of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

drugs to private bank accounts. Thirteen people were convicted of the murder, including Gertrude Nyamoya, a former employee of Kassi Manlan; Gerard Ntunzwenayo, deputy administrator of Burundi's

secret service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...

; and Major Emile Manisha, director general of the public security police. All were captured except Lamine Diara, who fled the country and was charged ''in absentia''. The defense claimed former president

Pierre Buyoya Pierre Buyoya (24 November 1949 – 17 December 2020) was a Burundian army officer and politician who served two terms as President of Burundi in 1987 to 1993 and 1996 to 2003. He was the second-longest-serving president in Burundian history. An ...

(an accused war criminal) was involved in a leadership position, but could not present sufficient evidence to charge him. Six of the accused were acquitted in 2008. Manlan was survived by his wife and four children. The Fondation MANLAN KASSI's been chaired by Dr Eliane EKRA whose's worked for the Ministry of health in Ivory Coast.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manlan, Kassi 1947 births 2001 deaths Assassinated Ivorian people Assassinated diplomats Ivorian people murdered abroad People murdered in Burundi Ivorian expatriates in Burundi