By Janice K. Neal-Vincent, Ph.D.,
Contributing Writer,
Recently, persons who rallied in two different events in Jackson, Miss. sought answers to what happened to Dau Mabil, Sundanese, Belhaven Heights man – who fled from a war when he was eight or nine with his older brother, came to America as a refugee and met his death in March of this year.
In April, Sheriff Ryan Everett made a statement that a fisherman found Dau’s body floating in the Pearl River, miles from Jackson in Lawrence County. In their unrest, Karissa Bowley and supporters voiced their concerns on Friday, June 14, 2024. Then the following Saturday (June 15th) the unrested Bul Mabil and supporters pooled together and voiced their sentiments.
Dau Mabil never returned to his Belhaven Heights resident in Jackson where, according to his wife, Karissa Bowley, he left for his walking routine but left his cellphone charging. That was the last time Bowley claimed to see him alive. “He is special. He was special before he ever married me. I’m just here, like, missing him, and I’m just here to miss him,” she declared.
Karissa’s older brother – Spencer – mentioned that the family is still waiting to see the full autopsy report regarding Dau’s death. According to him, upon the report’s arrival, the results of the investigation will be released. Afterwards, Dau’s body is to be released for a second autopsy.
Bul Mabil, Dau’s older brother, expressed his suspicions of the Capitol Police and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation because of their “muteness” in concealing evidence to the family and public. “If there was no foul play, where is the Capital Police investigation report? Where was the MBI report when the Chief of Capitol Police said they agree with that conclusion?” He argued.
Dau’s family are charging that persons close to Dau might have contributed to his disappearance and death. According to Bul, the Capitol Police are disrespecting Dau’s case in their slothfulness, thereby attempting to give a negative portrayal of him. At any rate, family members are appealing to the Department of Justice to do an investigation.
An emotional Valeena Greer – Dau and Bul’s foster mother – shouted, “Everybody knows what happened to Dau. Everybody is quiet. You might hurt the case. The only case that we are hurting if we talk is Karissa’s case as long as they can lie to you.” Dau’s birth mother still lives in a refugee camp but left Africa with others and attended Friday’s press conference.
Referencing Dau’s death as “a national crisis,” Bul pledged during the Saturday rally a nonstop plight until justice is won. “I’m not going to stop even though there are two systems that have been designed here in Jackson, Miss., that are trying to work against me in bringing to justice the people that took away the life of my brother. In his determination, Bul claimed that just as Dau would persist in the fight for justice, so would he.
Derrick Johnson, head of the NAACP, slanted his belief to that of the Mabil family. The Jackson resident called for “justice” in his appeal to the Department of Justice for swiftness in bringing closure to the mysterious disappearance and death surrounding Dau Mabil. Early-on when Dau went missing, Congressman Bennie Thompson (representative of the Jackson District) sent a letter of appeal for federal assistance to Attorney General Merrick Garland to halt destroyed evidence.
Bul believes that race could very well be in the picture for Dau’s death. “The fact my brother is an African, a Black man in America, it seems that he doesn’t deserve justice. That’s how the case of my brother is being treated. And I feel like I have been subjected to a system that is only meant to work for certain people and not a Black man in America,” he said.
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