The Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has said that the family of Yves Sakila, the Congolese man who died on Henry Street in Dublin earlier this month, is still "looking and waiting for answers".
Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner travelled to Ireland to meet Mr Sakila's family and to discuss his death with Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan and Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee.
She also met President Catherine Connolly at Áras an Uachtaráin yesterday evening.
Mr Sakila died on 15 May after he was restrained by security guards following a shoplifting incident on Henry Street in Dublin city centre.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Ms Kayikwamba Wagner said Mr Sakila’s family is "still traumatised and reeling from the events that led to his death".
"But they also displayed an enormous amount of courage, of serenity, and of course, of patience and trust in the Irish authorities that justice will be made and that light will be shed on the circumstances around Mr Sakila's untimely death," she added.
The DRC foreign minister said Mr Sakila’s family asked her to engage with the Irish Government to ensure the publicity around his death is "not short-lived" and will be followed by "consistent and continued follow-up and monitoring" by authorities.
She said the family wishes to understand "how such a demonstration of force and of excessive force could happen in broad daylight".
The family also asked to ensure that "the truth is established, that justice is served, and that such violence is prevented in the future", the minister said.
Ms Kayikwamba Wagner visited the memorial to Mr Sakila on Henry Street alongside members of Mr Sakila's family.
She said the Congolese government was encouraged to see the swift response to Mr Sakila’s death by authorities in Ireland.
The DRC foreign minister said her government has been reassured that everything is in place for thorough and independent investigations to take place to shed light on the events surrounding Mr Sakila’s death.
"We remained also committed to continuing to exchange on the evolution of the case in order to ensure that there is a clear follow-up that is happening.
"So I think overall, despite these very sad circumstances, the conversations that I had in Dublin were very fruitful and constructive and encouraging also in terms of the bilateral relationships between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ireland," she said.
The DRC foreign minister said the purpose of her visit to Ireland was to show support to Mr Sakila’s family but also to show the Irish Government that they are "taking this matter extremely seriously" and want to engage in a constructive manner.
Ms Kayikwamba Wagner said that her engagement on the issue also serves to make sure further incidents of this nature "no longer happen".
"So, this was a reason why we wanted to demonstrate in a clear manner, without any ambiguity, we are following this issue closely.
"But that we want to engage in it also in a very constructive manner with the different stakeholders, be it the family, the community, the legal team that is accompanying the family, or the Irish authorities that are leading in the different processes."
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