Ahead of the vigil on Monday, Jean Paul Sofia's mother spoke about her relentless fight for a public inquiry into her son's death and how she has no intentions of stopping.

"I'm doing this so that my son would not have died in vain. I don't want anybody to pass through this pain and that is why I am insisting on a public inquiry."

In an interview issued by her campaign group, Bonnici said that knowing that Sofia would have also fought in the same way if a friend of his had to die, gives her the courage to continue fighting and not give up.

Bonnici says she has been calling for a public inquiry into the death of her son, who died on 3 December after a building collapsed on him in Corradino, because she seeks the full truth which will prevent a tragedy like this from happening again. She made clear that her main priority was to make sure that other tragedies like this are not repeated.

Last Wednesday, the government rejected a motion put forward by the Opposition to launch a public inquiry into the death of Sofia, which would reveal any possible shortcomings of the state and include recommendations to prevent something like this from happening again. On Thursday, in an interview with MaltaToday, Abela said that he would publish the findings of the magisterial inquiry, but again defended his decision not to establish a public inquiry.

Bonnici said that it is clear that Abela did not understand why Bonnici and many others were calling for a public inquiry.

After the death of Miriam Pace three years ago, no public inquiry was held Bonnici said, adding that this shortcoming led to another death, "that of my son". If a public inquiry had been held following Pace's death, "maybe my son would still be with me," she said.

Pace had died when her home, which was adjacent to a construction site, collapsed in March 2020. "Nobody should pass through this pain again," Bonnici said.

She admitted that she passes from moments of discomfort and fear, but then she picks up the courage to fight on, also because of the support she has been receiving from "Nationalists and Labourites". It is not a question of partisan politics, she said. "I'm doing what I'm doing so that my son would not have died in vain." She said she never imagined that she would have received so much backing.

She said she appreciated the PM's call for the magistrate conducting the magisterial inquiry to be expeditious in her work, but she contended that a public inquiry would open the investigation wider.

"I cannot understand" why there is this resistance on the PM's part, Bonnici said, adding that such behaviour leads one to believe that there is something to hide.

She said he is disappointed that she did not meet all MPs on an individual level. "I had asked to meet them," but few responded, she said, probably because they did not have the guts to face her and say exactly why they were voting against the public inquiry.

Unfortunately, Sofia's family has been receiving abuse online for their relentless fight for a public inquiry. Asked about the verbal abuse she receives, particularly people commenting that if she really loved him she would have sent him to school, she admitted that this hurt at first because they were very unjust comments. However, she now understands better that she does not need to justify herself anymore, she added.

The biggest hit she took was the loss of her son, anything else has been small stings in comparison which push her to continue her fight, she said.

Asked about Jean Paul's character, she was visibly emotional when remembering her son and said that out of everything, his good heart is what stood out.

She elaborated and also spoke about his love for animals, music, having a laugh, and his friends and described him as a "young person who was full of life and loved life."

"He never used to mind telling me how much he loves me. He used to always tell me 'I love you Ma'"

Bonnici said that what Sofia needs is for all the decision-makers in Malta to have the same spirit and good heart that her son had.

People have criticised her for going to the Opposition for support as a partisan tactic. In response, she said that these people are insulting her intelligence. She asked, what mother would use the death of her child as some form of partisan reason.

"Before I would hear something, I would feel bad and stop. But now because it hit home, now the story is different."

As more time passes, Bonnici said that she feels that people are uniting with her in her fight for a public inquiry. So far she has received the backing of the Opposition, multiple NGOs and the almost 30,000 people who have signed her petition calling for a public inquiry. To continue this fight, a vigil for Sofia has been called and will be held on Monday at 8pm in from of Castille.