Slain soldier’s family demands justice from US Army

The family of a US Army trainee who was killed by his colleague is demanding answers from the military high command on the true cause of his death.

Relatives say, the Army has been anything but forthcoming and transparent with information regarding the cruel and unfortunate murder of the soldier training to serve his country.

The family maintains that the obvious tight-lipped posturing of the Army is evident in the way information reaches them since the January 10 incident that left Pvt. Abdul-Muksit Nafsudeen Latifu deceased under strange circumstances.

Military officials claims, 21-year-old soldier with Ghanaian roots was killed in a supposed “altercation with another soldier” at the Alabama Army post, Fort Rucker where he was training to become an Army air traffic control operator. But scars on his head and face together with other defensive wounds on his body shows he was hit with an entrenching tool, which can also be used as an axe by the military more than eight times. “My brother does not fight,” Mohammed Latifu, brother of Pvt Latifu, said in an interview with News 12, a local channel in New York.

“I have never seen my brother fight, his whole 20 years of life that I have known him… for you to say he got into an altercation with somebody, and he suffered a head injury and later pronounced dead at the hospital, that is some BS.”

He said the family is “still stuck” without answers 13 days after his brother’s murder. News about his demise was first published on local websites in Alabama as early as 11:30 am CST, even though his next-of-kin was officially called four (4) hours later to report that he had been hospitalized and in critical condition. A situation that feeds worries of foul play and or cover-up.

“When something of this kind happens, especially in a military base, the press is the last resort to share information. What was the hurry in publishing news of an altercation; which turns out to be a lie even before calling the family, What do they intend hiding with that cooked story?”, a clearly enraged friend questioned.

Identity of the murderer was also first released to the press and social media hours after the family questioned why they are being kept in the dark in an interview before his body was released to the family in New York. The killer soldier, Pvt. Brian Jones, Jr. is said to be in custody and will remain so by order of a military magistrate following a pretrial confinement hearing in connection with the killing. There are not signs of injuries or bruises suffered by Pvt. Brian to support the military’s narrative of an “altercation”. “His leaders said nothing suggests that they fought before it happened. It was a premeditated murder” his older sister, Baraka Abdullah said.

The deceased soldier has been buried in accordance with Islamic tradition at the Forest Green Park Cemetery in New Jersey. But the family wants answers to get closure on the brutal murder of the 21-year-old promising son and soldier. “Right now I’m stuck at the point where I feel like he’s not gone, I keep feeling like he is still here” the visibly sorrowful sister added.

The case is expected to proceed under the Uniform Code of Military Justice in accordance with the Manual for Courts-Martial. However, events and the posturing of the military subsequent to the incident leaves the family with more questions about the transparency and fairness of the trials.

“We get to put him to rest, but we still want answers. The family is still struck, my father is here but he is in the car. He can’t even come to the cameras because it’s a heart-breaking tragedy”, Muhammed Latifu said at the funeral. Another member of the family, Al-haj Mohammed Murtala said “We’re still in darkness, we haven’t been properly informed as to what really transpired”. “We need to get down to the root of whatever transpired”, he added.  His comments follow similar demands for justice by loved ones and people across different communities and race, including veteran associations.

The military, through Maj. Gen. Michael McCurry, the commander of Fort Rucker extended condolences to Pvt. Latifu’s family, friends and community, but the family says, “you can keep your condolences, we don’t care about that, we want justice!”.

Pvt. Latifu was a trainee in the Army’s Advanced Individual Training program at Fort Rucker where he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment, 1st Aviation Brigade.