A group of protestors have called for the shop Arnotts to be boycotted following the death of Congolese man Yves Sakila.
35-year-old Sakila died last Friday evening after he was restrained by security guards outside Arnotts just off O’Connell Street in Dublin. He was suspected of shoplifting from the shop, causing him to attempt to flee the scene after being confronted initially. In the process, an elderly man in his 80s was knocked over, resulting in the older man’s leg being broken.
The subsequent restraint was filmed, with the video going viral on social media.
After being restrained by shop security for 20 minutes, Gardaí later arrived on the scene, took him into custody, before realising his condition was deteriorating. They gave him CPR and he was transported to the Mater Hospital, but was pronounced dead after arriving.
A post mortem failed to determine a clear cause of his death after the fact.
Sakila had a prior criminal record that has brought him to the attention of the Gardaí on several occasions. In 2018, he was convicted of robbery and jailed for just over a year. Since completing that sentence, he has returned to custody more than once, including a three-month term last year for theft offences. Most recently, in January, Dublin District Court convicted him of shoplifting perfume valued at €106 from the same Arnott’s on Henry Street and fined him €110.
Earlier today, protesting outside of Arnotts at the scene where he died, a crowd of around 60 people, mostly comprised of members of the African community, chanted “Boycott Arnotts”, with one man telling the crowd “no one buy anything anymore from this shop.” The shop itself was shuttered and closed at the time.
Many protestors carried Congolese flags, or had such flags draped around their necks, and chanted “Justice for Yves” and “No more silence, no more violence”.
There were at least 8 Gardaí on the scene surrounding the protest, though there were no disturbances or scenes of public disorder.
Some members of the crowd insinuated that the incident had a racial motive, with one saying that it happened in the context of “imperialism” and large Western companies taking “minerals” from African mines in countries like the Congo. One young man was overheard arguing with an older African man, saying “Who is it going to be next? It could be me or you.”
However, one man who spoke to Gript – a church youth leader – said that while the incident was very sad for all involved and the deceased relatives, he did not believe it was related to race, and extended his sympathy to the elderly man who was injured, saying there were two tragedies that day.
Sakila had lived in Ireland since 2004, with his mother having been in the country since 1999. He has half sisters still living in Ireland.
This latest protest came after an earlier one outside the Dáil today, wherein NGO workers and activists expressed their anger and the Sakila’s death.