By Landing Ceesay
Ebrima Sagnia, a grieving father, recounted before the court how his son, Lamin Sagnia, tragically passed away from Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) in September 2022.
Mr. Sagnia is the 19th plaintiff in a civil lawsuit filed against the State, Maiden Pharmaceutical Company, and Atlantic Pharmaceutical Company, among others.
The devastating AKI outbreak emerged in The Gambia in July 2022, affecting dozens of children. Subsequent investigations in Ghana, France, and Switzerland detected toxic substances—Diethylene Glycol (DEG) and Ethylene Glycol (EG)—in medication samples. This discovery led to the immediate recall of pediatric medicines produced by Maiden Pharmaceutical Company, the source of the contaminated products.
According to The Gambia’s Ministry of Health, at least 70 children lost their lives after consuming cough syrups manufactured by Maiden Pharmaceutical Company in India.
In the aftermath of this tragedy, 27 families who lost their children to the outbreak filed a lawsuit seeking accountability and compensation. The defendants include Maiden Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Atlantic Pharmaceutical Company Limited, The Gambia’s Medicines Control Agency, the Ministry of Health, and the Attorney General. The families are collectively demanding 15 million dalasis in damages for each child lost.
Lamin Sagnia, one of the victims of this heartbreaking tragedy, is mourned by his father, Ebrima, who continues to seek justice for his son and other affected families.
“Our family consisted of my wife, my older children and the deceased. During the rainy season of 2022, my son (Lamin Sagnia) developed a fever and I took him to the clinic called Precious Clinic in Bakoteh, Kanifing Municipality, opposite an area known as Amsterdam. When I took him there, I explained that he was ill and I believed that he had malaria. However, I asked them to do a check-up and inform me of their findings.
“As l was speaking to the clinic staff, I cannot recall the name, who were not paying attention because they were on their phones and devices, I told them to pay attention to what I was saying so they would not prescribe the wrong medication. A lady came to attend to him. She asked what was wrong. I told her that he had a fever and to test him and tell us what medication to buy. They gave him a general check-up and did a haematology test and told me that he had very serious malaria,” Mr Sagnia told the court.
Mr. Sagnia explained that the clinic had prescribed paracetamol syrup, cold syrup, multivitamins, and antibiotics for his late son. He recounted that shortly after his son took the medication, he expressed a need to urinate, prompting Mr. Sagnia to assist him.
He further narrated that after collecting the prescribed medication, he took his son, Lamin Sagnia, to his mother’s home. During the journey, his son once again mentioned needing to urinate, marking the second occurrence within a very short span of time.
“We got home around 12:00 pm at night on Wednesday 7th September 2022. When we got home, I told his mother that they said he had malaria and we should make sure he ate before taking his medication. We made him eat some food and then gave him his medication. The following morning, I went to work, and around 10 am or 11 am, my wife called me and told me that my son (Lamin Sagnia) had not used the bathroom, had refused to eat and was also vomiting everything that was given to him. I told her to monitor him and give him the medication as prescribed and suggested that this may be due to malaria taking its toll on him and that he should drink plenty of water. I believed that if he had drank enough water, he would urinate not realizing it was the medication affecting him,” Mr. Sagnia testified.
Mr. Sagnia testified that around 5 p.m. that same day, his wife called again to inform him that their son had still not used the bathroom.
Growing increasingly concerned, Mr. Sagnia advised his wife to closely monitor their son until the evening. When he returned home from work, he noticed that his son, Lamin Sagnia, appeared lethargic and was unable to eat despite his pleas. That night, Lamin once again did not use the bathroom.
The following morning, Mr. Sagnia stated, his wife rushed Lamin to Africmed Hospital. She later informed him that their son remained extremely weak, still unable to eat or use the bathroom. Mr. Sagnia added that the hospital recommended Lamin be admitted for further care.”I went for Friday prayers, and my wife called me to inform me that they wanted to undertake IV therapy, what we call drip, but they could not find his veins. Then she called me again and told me that they referred them to Banjul Hospital as they suspected kidney problems. I got permission from my job to go to the hospital because they said their ambulance was not working. When I got there, I saw my son lying down, and I called him, and he responded to me.
“I asked the doctors whether it was possible to drive him to Banjul and they said yes, so I took my wife and son and drove to Banjul. When we arrived at Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, the nurses asked what was wrong with him, and I told them it was a referral. When they saw him, they admitted him immediately. The medical staff called my wife over and asked what kind of medication we gave our son and told them paracetamol syrups and other syrups; I recall the Doctors on duty at the time were Dr Fofana and Dr Badjie,” he said.
Mr. Sagnia explained that when doctors examined his son, they advised him to take the child to Dakar, Senegal, for further treatment. They informed him that his son was suffering from a kidney problem, which was becoming increasingly common at the hospital. Unfortunately, they also revealed that the necessary medication was no longer available.
Faced with this situation, Mr. Sagnia shared his financial struggles with the doctors, expressing that he could not afford to travel to Dakar and asking if they could assist him. In response, the doctors contacted his employer to explain the urgent need for surgery, noting that they had one remaining surgical kit available to perform the operation.
Mr. Sagnia said he gave the doctors his consent to proceed, as he felt he had no other option and was desperate to save his son’s life.”The Doctors told me the operation would be done on the following day. The nurses and Doctors told me that there were tests that needed to be conducted at AOA Medical Diagnostics Co Ltd. The Laboratory is located somewhere at Jimpex Road Kanifing Municipality, so I had to move my son again to the laboratory where they took blood samples from my son and put him on IV drips. After a few hours, they gave me the test results to take back to Banjul Hospital. I took the results back and the Doctors told me that it was indeed a kidney problem. They prescribed some medications for me to go and purchase, and also to get more drips,” he said.
Mr. Sagnia recounted that he obtained the medication in the morning, and his son was placed on IV drips. However, by the afternoon, his son stopped eating. Despite their efforts, he could not be persuaded to eat.
According to Mr. Sagnia, the doctors performed an operation later that afternoon, during which a bag was inserted into his son’s abdomen to collect urine.
Following the procedure, a subsequent test revealed worsening conditions. Mr. Sagnia said he was informed that another blood test was necessary and was notified that the government had waived blood test fees for children suspected of having kidney issues. His son was then taken for further testing.
“My son’s situation was getting worse and I told the Doctors that I was losing hope. l engaged the doctors to find out what could be done to save my son (Lamin Sagnia) as his condition was not improving but getting worse. Although I tried to be positive and prayed for a change, the body language of the doctors was not encouraging. I continued to buy the medication they prescribed to me for my son as I was hopeful his situation would change.
“After some time, my son began to throw up and anything we would give him would not stay in his stomach and he would throw up immediately. I noticed the IV drips put on him to help him urinate were leaking, and the side of his body that the bag was inserted into was getting swollen. I asked the Doctors whether it was normal and they said no so l told them to fix the leak. This leak happened again and the Doctors explained to me that the glue they used to keep the bag attached to his stomach was finished. I had to take my own money to buy the glue and provide it for use on my son,” he asserted.
Mr. Sagnia testified that some days after his son’s condition began to worsen, it deteriorated even further. He recounted that on a Sunday night, while he was with his son, Lamin Sagnia, his son called his name and asked him to look at him.
Mr. Sagnia said that when Lamin turned to look at him, he noticed his son’s eyes were vacant, as though he wasn’t truly seeing him.
Overcome with the painful realization that his son might not recover, Mr. Sagnia said he stepped outside and sat in his car, struggling with his emotions.
The following Monday morning, Mr. Sagnia observed his son in severe pain, grimacing as he endured it. He admitted that, in that moment, a part of him feared it might be the end for his son.
“I called my wife to come stay with him whilst I went to shower and change clothing. I ended up not going and stayed with my son and I asked her to leave as I didn’t want her to witness his suffering. I stayed there with my sister-in-law. On Tuesday my son’s condition worsened and I called my wife to come to the hospital so I could go home and change. On her way to the hospital she got lost due to her frightened and confused state of mind and i had to leave our son to go and get her.
“I quickly rushed home to change and on my way back my wife called me and told me that the doctors needed me there. I immediately knew my son had passed away. I met my wife crying and saw my son lying there, lifeless. The Nurses or doctors took away all the medications and informed me that they would conduct a post mortem on my son. The hospital later gave us my son’s body for burial. A death certificate was given to us. We buried him around 7pm on Tuesday 13 September 2022. I have not been given or seen a copy of the post mortem result nor have any of the Doctors contacted me since we were given our son’s body for burial,” Mr. Sagnia stated.
Mr. Sagnia informed the court that he had reviewed the Task Force report, which was published in March 2023. The report was prepared to investigate the deaths of children linked to the consumption of contaminated medicines imported from India, suspected of causing acute kidney injury. He further stated that the Task Force report is included in his Additional List of Documents.
“l have further been a participant in interviews and documentaries by the BBC and AskanWi regarding AKI cough syrups. These videos have been listed in my additional list of documents and my lawyers have put them on a flash drive to be submitted in court in a bundle. It is contained in a flash drive because the videos were sent to me by journalists after they were completed and I in turn sent them electronically to my lawyers. The original copies of some my documents listed in my first list of documents were seized by the government, as a result I only maintained photocopies of those documents,” he said.
The documents include: Lamin Sagnia’s Certificate of Birth issued on July 10, 2022; the Lamtoro Medical Centre Child Welfare Record; laboratory results from A.Q.A Medical Diagnostics Co Ltd dated September 9, 2022; a bundle of receipts spanning September 10 to September 12, 2022; and the Certificate of Death from Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, dated September 13, 2022.
“After numerous follow-ups with the government, I was eventually able to obtain a confirmation of death from Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital Mortuary – Dated 3rd March 2022. This is featured in my additional list of documents,” Mr. Sagnia concluded.