LAST UPDATE | 19 May

A VIGIL HAS been held in Dublin city centre for Yves Sakila, who died following an incident on Henry Street on Friday.

Mr Sakila, who was from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and had been living in Ireland for over a decade, died on Friday afternoon.

He allegedly injured a man in his 80s as he “attempted to flee” after an alleged shoplifting incident, gardaí have said.

Gardaí said at the weekend that Mr Sakila “became unresponsive at the scene and was transported by ambulance to the Mater Hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased”.

Mr Sakila, who gardaí did not name in their statement, had been detained by security personnel, gardaí said.

Video footage has been shared online in recent days appearing to show Mr Sakila prone on the ground before his death after the alleged shoplifting incident.

The almost five-minute video appears to have been taken by a bystander among the large crowd outside Arnotts department store.

By the end of the video, Mr Sakila does not seem to be moving. Mr Sakila is lying prone on the ground with a group of men appearing to be standing or kneeling over him for the duration of the video.

Following Mr Sakila’s death, around a hundred people attended a vigil to remember him this afternoon near where the video was taken. 

Crowds chanted “all we need [is] justice for Yves”.

Chris, a Congolese friend of Mr Sakila’s, spoke at the vigil.

“We’re not here to fight or to break the shop,” he told The Journal. “All we’re here [for] is justice. That’s it.”

He also said Mr Sakila had been helping his mother, who still lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Who’s going to help his mother now?,” he said.

Chris said earlier that what happened to Mr Sakila “could happen to anyone”.

“The man was struggling, you know,” he said. “I’m speechless right now.” 

Calls for investigation

Last night, the Africa Solidarity Centre, an NGO, and the Congolese Community in Ireland said in a statement that an immediate, independent, transparent and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr Sakila’s death was needed.

Minority and migrant communities need reassurance that their lives and rights will be regarded as being of equal value and that they have equal protection before the law, the groups said.

They extended their condolences to Mr Sakila’s family and friends and the wider African community. They said video footage they had seen raised “extremely serious concerns” about the level of force employed against the deceased while he posed no threat.

The Irish Network Against Racism (INAR), a network of anti-racism organisations, also described reports of the incident as “extremely disturbing” and said the case had the hallmarks of excessive use of force.

Yves Sakila File photo File photo

Speaking on his way into cabinet this morning, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the incident needs to be “thoroughly investigated”.

“I don’t want to prejudice the outcome of that investigation but I think a lot of people are clearly very concerned about what has transpired here,” he said.

“My deepest sympathies go out to his family, and to the wider Congolese community,” Martin said.

The video footage of the incident before Mr Sakila’s death has been shared with gardaí in Store Street investigating the incident, with the office of the police ombudsman Fiosrú, as well as with the office of Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan.

O’Callaghan also said today that it’s a “very distressing and concerning event”.

Asked about recent immigration remarks made by former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, in which he mentioned “the Congo” by name, O’Callaghan said it is “an unfortunate coincidence”.

“I don’t think there’s any relationship between what former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said and the incident that happened [on Friday].”

The minister asked any members of the public who have information to provide it to gardaí.

Opposition TDs also commented on the death of Mr Sakila today.

Labour Party TD Marie Sherlock sent her condolences to the deceased man’s family.

She said she is mindful that the full facts are not yet known, nor is “the threat to the public, or indeed to customers in Arnotts last Friday when the events kicked off”.

The Social Democrats and People Before Profit said they were also concerned by the events preceding Mr Sakila’s death.

Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman said there should be a “thorough investigation” and asked that the public refrain from circulating footage of the incident.

Fiosrú said in a statement today that it always investigates “incidents involving contact with gardaí where a member of the public has died or been seriously injured”.

“A referral does not necessarily mean a garda or gardaí have been accused of wrongdoing. Instead, it means that the incident should be investigated independently by Fiosrú to ascertain whether or not the act or omission of a garda or gardaí may have resulted in the death of, or serious harm to, a person,” it said.

In a statement this evening, Arnotts said it was “deeply saddened” by Mr Sakila’s death and issued its sympathies to his family, friends and the wider Congolese community in Ireland.

“No loss of life should ever be the outcome of a retail security incident,” a spokesperson for the company said.

“We recognise the deep hurt and concern this tragedy has caused within Dublin’s Congolese community and among the wider public, and we take those concerns with the utmost seriousness.”

The spokesperson added that the company was cooperating with the ongoing Garda investigation and conducting a full review with the independent security firm contracted to provide it with in-store security services.

With reporting by Eimer McAuley, Emma Hickey and Stephen McDermott.