The inquest into the death of Samwel Uko, who was 20 years old and from Abbotsford, B.C., has begun with six people selected to sit on the jury.
In May 2020, Uko was battling with mental health and sought to seek for help at the Regina General Hospital.
On his second attempt, he was escorted out of the emergency room by security guards. Later on that day, Uko’s body was recovered at Wascana Lake.
It was a tragedy that could have been prevented, according to family.
“For us as a family, we need to get answers,” said Justin Nyee, uncle of Uko. “We really need to know what exactly happened to him. We want to hear about his last hours.
“Who did he talk to? Who made the decision that he had to leave the hospital? It’s very important for us to get closure.”
The first day of the public inquest, presided by Coroner Robert Kennedy, was held on May 30, 2022, where the jury heard from a few witnesses such as a first responder, a forensic pathologist and the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
Daniel Ripplinger, a member of the Regina Fire & Protective Services, was called to testify as the inquest’s first witness. Ripplinger said the call came in at 7:58 p.m. where they were dispatched to Wascana Lake where one boat was launched onto the lake.
“I remember his belongings being there,” said Ripplinger. “Wallet, cellphone … I remember seeing an SHA business card.”
Ripplinger later added the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) business card had a handwritten phone number, which he thought was “bizarre” to see amongst Uko’s belongings.
The Regina Fire & Protective Services used a long pole with a hook on the end to look for Uko’s body but after 20 minutes, they decided to change strategy and after an hour and 10 minutes, they recovered the body.
Ripplinger recalls the man they pulled out of the water was shirtless and had cornrows on his head. At 9:25 p.m., Regina Fire & Protective Services confirmed the recovery of Uko’s body that was brought to shore.
The jurors heard from Andreea Nistor, a forensic pathologist who conducted an examination on the body of Uko.
“(There was) no signs of injury. No bruises, no scratches, no external injuries on the body,” said Nistor.
Her conclusion was that his cause of death was from drowning.
The executive director of the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) was the inquest’s third witness where he spoke on a policy that failed Uko.
“As SHA, we did not provide Samwel the care,” said John Ash. “We failed.”
Uko was denied access to care due to confusion on his identification during registration. Ash said Uko was caught in the space of registration and triage. To ensure this won’t happen to anyone else in the future, SHA wants to reaffirm the process when patients register upon visiting the ER where people can register as unidentified so they can still receive the care, if needed.
The public inquest held at the Ramada Plaza, will be held till June 3, 2022, with the possibility of extension to June 6, 2022.