A small group gathered in Wascana Park to mark one year since the death of Samwel Uko on Friday evening.
“Today is a sad day,” said family friend Muna DeCiman, affectionately known as Aunty Muna.
“It’s a day that we reflect on the potential of Samwel Uko and what he would have been for us.”
DeCiman, along with the group Black in Sask, organized a vigil for Uko with about 20 friends and family singing and praying at the memorial site along Wascana Lake.
The body of the 20-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., was recovered from the lake on the evening of May 21, 2020. His family believes he died by suicide.
Uko visited the Regina General Hospital twice the day he died — once in the morning and again just hours before his death.
During his second visit, surveillance video shows he was forcibly removed from the hospital by four security guards.
“We always tell our kids, ‘Go to the right place,’” DeCiman said.
“He went to seek help, but not knowing he went to seek his death.”
DeCiman said she believes Uko was turned away from the hospital because of “the way he was looking and the colour of his skin.”
Two months after his death, the Saskatchewan Health Authority released a four-page review, outlining exactly what happened the day Uko visited the Regina General Hospital’s emergency room.
The SHA admitted that procedure wasn’t followed during his second visit, and that the hospital “failed” to help the young man. It also issued an apology.
The SHA, along with the province, outlined a number of changes to address its current problems when dealing with situations like Uko’s.
In October, Uko’s family filed a lawsuit against the SHA and the hospital.
The statement of claim alleges the SHA was “negligent and breached its duty of care” by failing to provide help for Uko’s mental health issues, which ultimately led to his suicide on May 21.
“For the parents, for me and for young Black people, justice means holding those people accountable (for his death),” DeCiman said.
“It won’t bring Samwel back, but justice will be done.”
Besides seeking justice, Deciman said the Black in Sask community hopes Uko’s story changes the way people view mental health and mental illness.
“I just hope people will embrace mental health as any other illness and not be stigmatized,” DeCiman said.
“The only difference between people who are sick and you and myself is a very thin line.”
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Samwel Uko’s parents suing provincial government, SHA -
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Samwel Uko’s family calls on Sask. government to begin inquest promised in June -
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Saskatchewan Health Authority releases review into Samwel Uko death -
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Video shows Samwel Uko escorted out of hospital, Sask. Health Authority completes investigation -
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Saskatchewan Health Authority issues apology to Samwel Uko’s family, admits failure
In light of Uko’s death, Black in Sask has organized a support group for Black men struggling with mental health issues in the community.
Like many cultures, DeCiman said the Black community doesn’t often talk about mental health. But they are trying to change that.
“Right now the Black community has taken charge of looking after our own, so we’ve got a lot of support and the young people are taking charge,” DeCiman said.
The Saskatchewan Coroners Services is expected to conduct an inquest into Uko’s death this year. No date has been set.
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