Yves Sakila, a young man of Congolese origin (DRC), lost his life in Dublin, Ireland, after an arrest of unprecedented violence by security guards of a department store.

Accused of shoplifting, he was held on the ground for several minutes. This ordeal has sparked outrage within the African diaspora. The incident occurred last Friday on Henry Street, one of the busiest shopping streets in the Irish capital. Suspected of shoplifting, Yves Sakila, in his thirties, was roughly apprehended by store security guards.

What should have been a standard procedure turned into a nightmare. Amateur video footage, circulating widely and sparking outrage on social media, shows the horrific scene: the young Congolese man is pinned to the ground, held down by several individuals for nearly five minutes. Even worse, the images show one of the officers pressing his knee directly onto the victim's head or neck. Yves Sakila lost consciousness at the scene before being pronounced dead.

"I couldn't sleep all night. I kept watching the video on repeat," says Sanaa Basit, a Sudanese mother living in Dublin.

At the scene of the tragedy, the emotion is palpable. A steady stream of passersby lay flowers where the young man breathed his last. For the local Black community, the trauma is immense.

Laure Zoya, vice-president of the Congolese Community Association in Ireland, expresses a growing sense of betrayal and insecurity: “Congolese people were among the first Black communities to settle in Ireland. Today, our members are shocked, disturbed, and no longer feel safe. The Ireland they knew 30 years ago is no longer the same.”

For its part, the Irish Network Against Racism (INAR) immediately took to the airwaves, denouncing a disproportionate use of force and stating that "the death of a black man in such circumstances is extremely worrying".

Many see a tragic echo of other cases of systemic violence around the world. Faced with public pressure and the speed with which the video went viral, the Irish government had to react urgently.

Prime Minister Micheál Martin addressed Parliament to calm tensions and demand the whole truth: "All the circumstances of what happened must be examined and thoroughly investigated. The situation is deeply concerning," he said.

Irish police have confirmed that a criminal investigation is underway to determine the exact responsibilities of the security guards.

During his attempted escape, a man in his thirties was also reportedly injured. While the investigation has stalled, young Africans and the diaspora remain mobilized on social media using various hashtags to demand justice for Yves Sakila.