‘Justice for Yves’: Vigil held in Henry Street for Congolese man

A vigil has been held in memory of a Congolese man who died after being detained by the security guards of a department store in Dublin city centre.

Yves Sakila, a 35-year-old Congolese man, was pronounced dead in hospital after the incident in Henry Street on Friday.

An alleged video of the incident, which has been shared online and on messaging apps, has been described as “deeply disturbing” and has caused concern among minority communities.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin expressed his sympathies to the man’s family and said the incident must be “thoroughly” investigated.

Gardai said security personnel detained a man in connection with alleged shoplifting at a retail store in Henry Street after 5pm on Friday.

The detained man became unresponsive at the scene and was later pronounced dead in hospital.

Fiosru, the office of the Garda Ombudsman, said it attended the scene of the incident on Friday after gardai referred the incident to them.

Arnotts said in a statement it was “deeply saddened” by the death of Mr Sakila following an incident outside its Henry Street store and said it was co-operating with gardai.

It said it was conducting a full review with the independently contracted firm that provides its security services.

On Tuesday at noon, dozens of people gathered at a vigil in Henry Street and left red roses and flowers at a site along the busy shopping street.

The crowd chanted “Justice for Yves” and “no more violence”, and carried handmade signs, including one that said “Black lives matter here too”.

“It’s not all about the colour, I’d be out here for anybody. It could happen to anybody, it could happen to you, it could happen to me,” Chris Kibiadi said.

A woman called Lolo who lives in Dublin 24, who wanted to give only her first name, said gardai should have been called in the incident and said the death was “painful”.

“I was shocked. How many white people come to the Congo and steal diamonds and gold and everything?”

Bernie Darcy said she attended the protest as a friend and a mother and thought the incident was “scandalous”.

“I was angry and upset,” she said, adding that the vigil was a good opportunity for people to grieve.

John Kabongo, who addressed the crowd, said his children were upset after watching the video.

“My kids were so upset for the whole day, they are scared. When they saw this on the video, they said ‘Dad, is this really happening in Ireland?’. I don’t know how to explain to them.

“We’re asking for justice to be done. No matter where you’re from, black or white, this is not fair.”

Addressing the crowd, Mr Kabongo said “Bertie Ahern, watch your mouth next time,” referencing the former taoiseach saying “we can’t be taking in people from the Congo” while campaigning as part of the Dublin Central by-election.

Mr Ahern has apologised for any offence his comments may have caused.

Walter Kabangu, director of communications of the Congolese Chamber of Commerce Ireland, said he was “shocked and saddened” at the incident.

“As a community, as a whole, we demand justice to what happened,” he told the Press Association.

“We don’t want more violence to take place. I went to the same secondary school as Yves as well, so to see those images was shocking and very sad.”

Arnotts said in a statement: “Our heartfelt sympathies go to his family, his friends, and the wider Congolese community in Ireland, who are grieving his loss.

“No loss of life should ever be the outcome of a retail security incident.

“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.”

It added: “Arnotts is actively co-operating with An Garda Siochana in their investigations to determine the circumstances surrounding Mr Sakila’s death, and we are conducting a full review with the independently contracted security firm that provides in-store security services for Arnotts.

“Arnotts cannot make any further public comment while the garda investigations remain active and we are committed to ensuring that the facts are established.”

Asked about Mr Sakila on Tuesday morning, the Taoiseach shared his sympathies with the man’s family.

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

“The situation will have to be thoroughly investigated, and 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.”

The Irish Network Against Racism (INAR) said it was “extremely disturbed” by reports of Mr Sakila’s death.

“The death of a black man in such circumstances is extremely worrying, and we urge the authorities to thoroughly investigate all of the circumstances leading to this man’s death, in order to ensure minority ethnic community confidence in the criminal justice system,” INAR director Shane O’Curry said.