Civil rights watchdog ‘involved’ George Nkencho’s family not interviewed about his taking pictures

The Irish Civil Liberties Council (ICCL) has written to the Garda Síochána (Gsoc) Ombudsman Commission asking them to receive eyewitness testimony from members of George Nkencho’s family who were present at the time of his murder.

ICCL said it was “concerned” that these statements had not yet been made and stressed that international law requires them to restore confidence in the Gsoc investigation.

27-year-old Nkencho was shot dead by the Garda Armed Support Unit outside his home on December 30th.

There had been a disturbance at the Clonee housing estate and Mr Nkencho was armed with a kitchen knife and attempts were made to hold him back with pepper spray and tasers. His family said he had suffered from mental health problems for the past few months.

News reports on Sunday suggest that a preliminary pathology report commissioned by the family’s lawyer revealed that Mr. Nkencho had been hit twice in the back.

The ICCL stated there were international legal obligations to fully investigate the Gardaí murder of George Nkencho, including the need to fully investigate the possibility of racial prejudice and to involve and update Nkencho’s family at all stages of the investigation.

Doireann Ansbro, ICCL Director of Legal and Policy, said: “We have asked GSOC to interview the Nkencho family as soon as possible in order to restore confidence that the investigation will be thorough.

“We also asked them to respect all of the gardaí’s human rights obligations, including the prohibition of discrimination.

“We feel it is important to ensure that potential biases are examined – both explicitly and implicitly. To really examine this, Gsoc may need to recommend a more comprehensive systemic examination after the current one.”

This could include, for example, whether Gardaí are receiving adequate training on bias, as well as an investigation into policing by minority communities.

ICCL also released a sticky note on the state’s obligations in the use of lethal force. Ireland’s human rights obligations include ensuring that the victim’s family is involved at all stages of the process.

It is important that the investigation is carried out as soon as possible to ensure the trust of the community involved.

In this context, it was particularly worrying that the Nkencho family had not yet been interviewed by Gsoc.

The ICCL stated that if the Gsoc investigation does not meet the requirements of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (on the right to life and the right to an independent, effective, thorough and prompt investigation when the state uses lethal force), “another form the investigation will likely be necessary “.