Yves Sakila died from factors including cardio-respiratory arrest after being restrained, inquest told

Inquest heard that his body has still not been buried due to the failure of his family to reach agreement on the issue

Yves Sakila: Died in the Mater Hospital where he was brought from Henry Street. detective inspector tells inquest.

A homeless African man who became unresponsive while being detained by security staff outside Arnotts department store in Dublin city centre earlier this year died from a number of factors, including a cardio-respiratory arrest, after being restrained in a prone position, an inquest has heard.

The opening of the inquest into the death of Yves Sakila at Dublin District Coroner’s Court also heard that his body has still not been buried due to the failure of his family to reach agreement on the issue.

The fatal incident occurred on Henry Street, Dublin 1, shortly after 5pm on May 15.

Gardaí were alerted to the scene after Mr Sakila, aged 34, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who was living in a Salvation Army hostel on Granby Row, Dublin 1, had been detained by security staff over an alleged shoplifting incident in Arnotts.

Another man, aged in his 80s, was injured as Mr Sakila was attempting to flee the store after allegedly stealing a bottle of perfume.

Mr Sakila subsequently became unresponsive at the scene and was brought by ambulance to the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital where he was pronounced deceased a short time later.

The inquest opened on Thursday. It heard the results of a postmortem by State pathologist SallyAnne Collis showed he died from “a cardio-respiratory arrest following a period of prone restraint, mixed drug intoxication, and a raised body mass index".

The pathologist also listed schizophrenia as a contributory factor in his death.

The inquest heard two different strands of Ms Sakila’s family were being legally represented with lawyers attending on behalf of his 'stepmother' in Ireland and his biological mother in the DRC.

Sharp exchanges between coroner and solicitor

It was also dominated by sharp exchanges between the coroner, Myra Cullinane, and solicitor John Gerard Cullen, who was representing Mr Sakila’s 'stepmother', Angel Issemezey.

Dr Cullinane said she did not accept Mr Cullen’s contention that Mr Sakila’s death was a death in custody for which he was seeking an inquest to be held with a jury.

The coroner said she was not going to make such an adjudication while investigations into his death were ongoing.

On the issue of holding an inquest with a jury, she remarked: “We are nowhere near that.” 

Dr Cullinane asked the solicitor to desist when he claimed that Mr Sakila had “died while handcuffed".

Mr Cullen said it was “an obvious death-in-custody case” which raised issues under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The coroner intervened when Mr Cullen tried to question a Garda witness, Detective Garda Mairead Murphy, who gave evidence about the formal identification of the deceased, if there was a conflict with gardaí from Store Street leading the investigation.

The solicitor remarked that gardaí from the same station had “operational control” over Mr Sakila’s death.

Dr Cullinane said the solicitor’s attempt to raise the matter was “an abuse of process” as the coroner’s court was precluded from dealing with such matters.

She pointed out to Mr Cullen that he was “going to have to take them elsewhere".

The coroner also claimed the solicitor, in pressing the matter, was being “extremely disrespectful” to the deceased and had “raised the temperature” with an “aggressive” approach.

She pointed out that the only purpose of the hearing was to hear evidence about formal identification and the cause of death.

The inquest heard that the deceased’s body was formally identified to gardaí by Ms Issemezey at Dublin City Mortuary in Whitehall.

In a written statement, Ms Issemezey, who did not attend the hearing, said she had cared for Mr Sakila since he and his uncle came to Ireland in 2004.

The inquest heard that Ms Issemezey told gardaí they had come from the DRC as part of a family reunification programme.

She said she was Mr Sakila’s step-aunt, who was married to his uncle, but that she was always referred to as his “stepmother”, while she instructed her own children to always refer to the deceased as their “brother".

Ms Issemezey also claimed that Mr Sakila’s parents were dead — a claim that was disputed by solicitor Albert Llusa, who told the inquest he was representing the deceased’s birth mother, who lives in Kinshasa.

Mr Llusa acknowledged that Mr Sakila’s father is dead but said he had an attested copy of his mother’s passport as proof she was “very much alive".

Inquest adjourned

Detective Inspector Ken Hoare applied for a six-month adjournment of the inquest under Section 25 (1) of the Coroners Act on the basis that criminal proceedings are being contemplated.

Det Insp Hoare said he expected a Garda file on the case would be submitted to the DPP and was hopeful that a direction would be received within six months.

He also confirmed that a separate, independent investigation into Mr Sakila’s death with its own terms of reference is being conducted by Fiosrú, formerly the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.

When Mr Cullen asked Det Insp Hoare if he accepted that Mr Sakila had died in Garda custody or immediately before, the coroner interjected to state the witness did not have to answer the question.

However, Det Insp Hoare replied that Mr Sakila had “died in the Mater Hospital where he was brought from Henry Street".

Dr Cullinane also observed it would be “very desirable” if Mr Sakila’s family in both Ireland and the Congo could reach an agreement on arrangements for his burial after being informed that it had still not taken place.

The coroner granted the application for an adjournment and listed the case for further mention on April 21, 2027.