Bertie Ahern, former Prime Minister of Ireland, says he is not a racist. He says he regrets singling out any one nationality or group. He says his comments about “too many” immigrants, African countries, the Congo and Muslim communities were just part of a conversation about housing, healthcare and public services. But words do not disappear once a politician has finished explaining them.

“I think there are too many coming in. I think we have to take some in. I have no problems with the Ukrainians. In fairness, Russia moved in, and [there is] war in their country. But a lot of the Ukrainians are going back now. We still have a lot of Poles here. But the ones I worry about are the Africans. I agree with you on the Africans. We can’t be taking in people from the Congo and all these places. I think there’s too many from those places.”

Irish Examiner

Days after the former Fianna Fáil leader was covertly filmed canvassing in Dublin Central, appearing to agree with a woman’s concerns about immigration and naming the Democratic Republic of Congo as a source of worry, Yves Sakila, a Congolese‑born Black man, died after being restrained in Dublin City. A video of his final moments, shared widely online, shows several men pinning him to the ground, with one reportedly placing a knee on his neck and later using his hands to press down while others held his body and head.

By the end of the clip, Sakila is appears unconscious. He was later pronounced dead. Gardaí are investigating. A post‑mortem will determine the cause of death.

For Ireland’s Congolese and Black communities, those two events did not feel like a coincidence. They felt like the same climate, a climate where Black people, Africans and immigrants are framed as problems, where African nationalities are singled out as warnings, and where a Black man’s death is met with people rushing to ask what he allegedly stole rather than why he is no longer alive.

Irish Daily Mail clipping showing Bertie Ahern beside a quote about Africans and people from Congo during an immigration controversy.
Bertie Ahern’s remarks singled out Africans and Congolese people, exposing how easily immigration panic turns Black communities into targets.

Here is what the Dublin Inquirer reported on May 20, 2026:

More than 100 people joined an emergency Zoom meeting organised by the Africa Centre for Black people across Ireland to process what happened and discuss a response.

Black Irish activist Jude Hughes compared the scene to George Floyd’s death, saying, “It’s literally George Floyd on the streets of Dublin.”

Yemi Adenuga, a Fine Gael councillor and Ireland’s first Black woman elected to public office, said many non‑African people do not distinguish between different African nationalities. “All they see is a Black person,” she said.

Kembetia Bissa of the Congolese Community in Ireland said the death of “our brother” was deeply painful, especially so soon after Ahern’s comments.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties called for “swift, thorough and transparent investigations”.

Petty Crime Is Being Used to Justify a Death

Dublin Inquirer reported that anti-immigrant groups were already focusing on claims that Sakila had been homeless and had stolen before.

That framing is not accidental. It shifts attention away from the force used against him and toward whether he was respectable enough to deserve sympathy.

But human rights are not reserved for perfect people. Dignity is not conditional. The law does not say a person accused of stealing can be pinned down until they stop responding.

The fixation on alleged shoplifting serves a purpose. It gives people permission not to care. It encourages the public to ask what Sakila did wrong before asking what was done to him.

That is why this story cannot be separated from the wider political climate. When Black migrants are already framed as a burden on housing, healthcare and public order, a Black man’s death is more easily excused. The public has been primed to see him as a problem.

Ireland Must Stop Pretending Racism Is Somewhere Else

The pain inside Ireland’s Congolese and Black communities is not just about one video. It is about timing, context and recognition. According to Dublin Inquirer, more than 100 people joined an emergency Zoom meeting organised by the Africa Centre after Sakila’s death. People gathered to process their grief and discuss how to respond. Flowers were laid on Henry Street. Sakila’s stepmother reportedly broke down at the place where he died, asking, “Why? Why?”

That question is bigger than one street. A former Prime Minister singled out Africans during an election campaign. Muslims were discussed as future threats. Migrants were blamed for housing and healthcare failures created by years of political choices. Then a Black man died in public, and parts of the internet still found a way to laugh, justify and sneer.

This is the reality Black people in Ireland are being asked to live with. A tiny community is treated as a national threat. People who have lived here for years, even decades, are still spoken about as outsiders. Their grief becomes a debate. Their presence is treated as a problem. Even in death, people search for reasons to explain away what happened to them. Yves Sakila was not a symbol to his family. He was a person. He had a life, a history, a community and people who loved him.

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