Vigil Called After Black Man Dies Following Excessive Use of Force Outside Arnotts

The Congolese Community in Ireland (CCI) has called a vigil on Dublin’s Henry Street from 12-2pm, Tuesday 19 May, in response to the alleged killing of Yves Sakila on Friday 15 May.

Mr Sakila, a Congolese IT professional, died after Arnotts’ security team placed lethal weight on his neck and head. The Gardaí were also seen kneeling on his back. Gardaí said the incident has been reported to Fiosrú, the Office of the Police Ombudsman. There have been unproven allegations of shoplifting online. In their recent statement, the Irish Network Against Racism (INAR) has described this as “a case of excessive use of force”.

This tragic event comes nary a week after comments made by former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern went viral online. In the surfaced video, Mr Ahern is heard saying: “The ones I worry about are the Africans… We can’t be taking in people from the Congo and all these places. I think there’s too many from those places.”

Shane O’Curry, director of the INAR, highlighted in a statement to Aontacht Media the connection between the disgraced Taoiseach’s comments and the alleged killing:

“It is hard to think about the circumstances surrounding the death of this man, including the excessive use of force, and not connect it to the unsavoury and dehumanising comments by former disgraced Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. Mr Sakila’s death is made possible in conditions created by elites which lead to the dehumanisation of the most marginalised in society.”

The passing of Mr Sakila is but one event in a pattern of abuse and violence against Black people. Just earlier this month, the Sligo-born 2026 Dublin Rose, Ms Suad Mooge, had received significant online abuse due to her Black Somali ethnicity. These recent incidents remain in the shadow of the fatal 2020 shooting of George Nkencho by Gardaí, which occurred just months after the murder of George Floyd in the United States.