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Published 11:59 21 May 2026 BST
Updated 11:59 21 May 2026 BST

The mother of Yves Sakila, the Congolese man who died after being restrained following an alleged shoplifting incident in Dublin last week, is expected to speak at a protest outside Leinster House today.
Last Friday, May 15, Yves Sakila was detained by security guards outside Arnotts on Henry Street in Dublin for a number of minutes following an alleged shoplifting incident.
He was later pronounced dead at the Mater hospital.
Vice-president of the Congolese community in Ireland, Laure Zoya, said his mother, Angel, is 'heartbroken, overwhelmed and still in shock' following the death of her son.
Furthermore, the family has also confirmed they will commission a second private autopsy if they are not satisfied with the findings of the initial post-mortem examination.
On Tuesday evening, a vigil was held outside Arnotts calling for justice and transparency over the man's death.
Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Ms Zoya highlighted 'many unanswered questions' around Sakila's death, adding that the family 'cannot bury him until justice is done'.
A press conference is confirmed to be taking place outside the Dáil from 11am today, Thursday, May 21, followed by a protest and rally between 1pm and 3pm.
Protest organisers are also seeking the release of CCTV footage related to the incident in order to better understand what happened in the lead-up to his death.
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“She is determined to establish exactly what happened in the moments before he became unresponsive but she is very overwhelmed right now,” she said. She is going to address the protest at the Dáil on Thursday. She has been living here since 1991 and her son Yves came here in 2004. She has other children too. Yves's father is in Belgium. She wants to be very clear that this is not a race issue, this is a death on the street and like any family, they want to know what happened."

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