A vigil is being held in Dublin city centre today following the death of Yves Sakila, a 35-year-old member of Ireland’s Congolese community who died after an alleged shoplifting incident on Henry Street last Friday.
The gathering is due to take place at 12pm on Henry Street and has been organised by the Congolese Community in Ireland (CCI), with support from anti-racism campaign group United Against Racism Ireland.
In a statement, the group said: “We are deeply disturbed to hear about the killing of Yves Sakila. United Against Racism stands in solidarity with the Congolese community in Ireland. We echo Irish Network Against Racism’s statement on the brutal and unjustifiable death of Yves Sakila. Join us tomorrow on Henry Street.”
View this post on Instagram
Campaign organisation Black & Irish also issued a statement after videos of the incident circulated online. The organisation said it was aware of events which took place on May 15 on Henry Street and confirmed the man involved was believed to be Mr Yves Sakila.
The group described footage showing a man being restrained on the ground by several individuals believed to be security guards. It said one person appeared to place a knee on Mr Sakila’s head and neck area during the incident.
“Regardless of what had happened prior to this event unfolding, no one should have to face this level of excessive force. There is no crime in Ireland that is punishable by death,” the statement said.
“This unfortunately resembles too many cases that we can look back to, where excessive force is used against a black person. We are deeply disturbed by this.”
The organisation called for a “thorough and swift investigation” and said accountability must be ensured if excessive force was used.
The incident happened at around 5pm on Friday on Henry Street. Gardaí said security personnel had detained a man in connection with an alleged shoplifting incident from a retail premises.
During the incident, a man in his 80s was injured as the suspect allegedly attempted to flee the scene.
According to Gardaí, the detained man later became unresponsive and was taken to the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The case has been referred to Fiosrú and Gardaí said the results of a post-mortem examination would help determine the direction of the investigation.
Irish Network Against Racism said it was concerned that excessive force may have been used during the restraint. Director Shane O'Curry described footage of the incident as “very disturbing”.
“Nobody deserves to die for being suspected of shoplifting,” he said.
“Something clearly went terribly wrong. We are very concerned that this case appears to have the hallmarks of a case of excessive use of force.”
The Congolese Community in Ireland identified Mr Sakila as an IT professional who had been living in Ireland since his teenage years.
Laure Zoya said the incident had deeply shocked the Congolese, African and Black communities in Ireland and abroad.
“Many people are disturbed by the level of force shown during the restraint and are demanding full clarity regarding the circumstances that led to Mr Sakila becoming unresponsive,” she said.
She added that the community was seeking a “full, transparent, independent, and impartial investigation” and urged people to remain peaceful while pursuing justice through official channels.
“We also wish to remind the public that Yves Sakila was more than a headline,” she said.
“He was a member of our community, a professional working in Ireland, and a human being whose life mattered.”
