'He's gone because of you': Samwel Uko's family speaks out as tensions flare during inquest

Samwel Uko’s family speaks publicly WATCH: Samwel Uko’s family spoke for the first time publicly during the inquest into Samwel’s death. Stefanie Davis reports.

The parents of Samwel Uko remember their son as kind, easygoing and always joking.

For the first time since he died two years ago, Uko’s parents addressed media on Wednesday morning ahead of the third day of the inquest into his death.

“He was a happy kid,” Samwel’s dad, Taban Uko, said through a translator. “He’s a son every dad would wish they have. He always took care of his nieces. He always joked with his sister. His mother was the person he loved [most].”

Uko, 20, was pronounced dead when his body was found in Wascana Lake in May of 2020.

According to the forensic pathologist who conducted Uko’s autopsy, the cause of death was drowning.

He went to the Regina General Hospital (RGH) seeking mental health support twice on the day he died. The second time, he was escorted out by security before receiving treatment.

His parents said it has been a long two years of trying to figure out why their son did not receive the care he was looking for from the RGH.

“He knew he was doing the right thing,” Justin Nyee, Samwel’s uncle, said on behalf of the family. “He did everything right but Regina staff did not care about him. They did not care about him or anyone who looked like him. He was not seen with compassion.”

So far, the inquest has heard from a number of staff who were present at the RGH the day Uko went to seek help.

“The last two days have been very frustrating,” Uko’s mom, Joice Guya Issa Bankando, said.

The family said they were hoping for more from the hospital.

“They have not taken responsibility. What happened to the staff that threw Samwel out? There has been no changes,” Nyee said.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority gave Uko’s family about $81,000 in compensation for his death in 2021, saying he did not receive the standard level of care. His family said they plan to return that because they don’t feel the SHA lived up to its promises.

“We, as the family, accepted it in good faith,” Nyee said. He said they were promised the hospital would do better and make changes to ensure this never happens again.

“It’s two years later and the hospital hasn’t done anything,” Nyee said. “We don’t need it because they deceived us. They lied to us.”

Uko’s uncle said there is one piece of information the family is hoping to hear as the inquest continues.

“We’re still waiting for the answer of who made the decision that Samwel should be thrown out of hospital. We need to know,” Nyee said.

HOSPITAL SECURITY VIDEO PLAYED

Tensions were high during the inquest on Wednesday morning. Video footage was played showing Uko’s second visit to the hospital on the day he died.

Triage nurse Sara Thompson was on the stand as the video played. She was present in the video, along with an emergency room doctor, a registration clerk and additional hospital staff.

The footage shows Uko sitting in a chair with police officers and later security guards around him.

Uko’s mother was not in the inquest room as the video played. His father, uncle and sister watched.

Thompson said the only conversation she had about Uko when he came into the hospital was when a security guard told her they could not get Uko’s name and he did not want to be registered.

She said she never spoke to Uko.

She testified she had told the guards, “he cannot stay there” regarding the chair Uko was sitting in, saying it was disrupting flow near the triage station. She said she told the guards he could be moved anywhere else.

In the video, Uko can then be heard saying, “leave me alone”

At that point, Samwel’s sister Yasmine Uko addressed the nurse in the inquest room.

“Why didn’t you help my brother? Because he’s black?” she yelled at Thompson. “He’s gone because of you.”

The inquest then adjourned for the morning, with counsel for the SHA saying the outburst was completely inappropriate.

To start the afternoon, presiding coroner Robert Kennedy reminded those attending the inquest that blame is not meant to be laid. He said the goal of the inquest is to make changes to prevent similar situations in the future, not change the past.

The remainder of the security footage was played, which showed Uko being pulled out of his chair and removed from the hospital by multiple security guards.

Uko can be heard in the video saying he was having mental health problems.

As the video played for the room, Uko’s father was heard crying.

Thompson said she didn’t help Uko because she was triaging a child who was at her desk. She said she was the only one at the triage desk at that time.

She remembers hearing Uko say “help me” when he was at the hospital.

If she could do anything differently, Thompson said she would have probed for more information about Uko from security.

“He wasn’t a registered patient. In triage, your priority is registered patients,” Thompson said.

Nyee, Uko’s uncle, asked Thompson why she did not stop the security guards from escorting Uko out of the hospital after she had instructed them to move him.

“It surprised me that they took him out, but they hadn’t told me any of their conversation,” she said. “I figured they must have made an assessment on their end that it was necessary.”

Reginald Watson, the SHA’s counsel, pointed out that there is a multitude of people in the emergency room at any given time. He said for safety’s sake, it’s important that everyone stays in their own zone.

“When you’re assigned to triage, your duty is triage. You’re not a treater, you’re an assessor?” he asked to Thompson, which she agreed with.

Watson asked Thompson how skin colour impacts how she treats patients.

“Absolutely no difference. We have a very multicultural population in Regina. Every patient I have is treated with the exact same level of respect and attention,” Thompson said.

POLICE, SECURITY GUARDS TESTIFY

Uko’s 911 call was played during the inquest. He was walking while talking to the dispatcher, who was able to confirm where he was calling from and relay it to police officers.

“I need help very quick,” Uko told the dispatcher.

He said his name several times, but it was muffled.

“I’m having some mental issues right now. I’m just very, very tired,” he said.

The dispatcher told him to stop walking and to take deep breaths. She asked if he needed to go to the hospital, to which he responded yes.

Const. Trent Walker with the Regina Police Service responded to the call for service to assist Uko around 5:35 p.m. on May 21, 2020.

He said after receiving the page, he spotted Uko walking.

“I got out of the car to kind of get a better understanding why he was calling 911,” Walker said. “I began having a conversation with him. He stated he had mental health issues and would like to see a doctor. He seemed a bit stressed.”

Walker said Uko was coherent and did not appear to be intoxicated with drugs or alcohol.

“There was no sense of harming himself or being of harm to others,” Walker said.

The police officer got his full name but believed it was Samuel, not Samwel.

Following the conversation, Walker offered Uko a ride to the RGH. He said Uko voluntarily got into his car. He drove to the hospital and they walked inside to register.

Walker’s police partner, Const. Andrea Renchko, met them at the hospital and said Uko confirmed his name with her before they went inside.

Both constables said they provided the registration clerk with the name Uko gave them.

The officers said no version of his name popped up in any of the databases they could access.

Through tears during his testimony, Walker said Uko just seemed like he needed help.

Uko’s father began crying, but said, “thank you man. God bless you,” to the officer.

The hospital security guards who escorted Uko out of the building testified that it was ultimately their call to remove the patient from the building.

Security guard Joran Sacchetti said they tried talking to him for about half an hour, but couldn’t get his name. They were not given one from registration.

He said he asked the triage nurse what they should do with the patient, but he said the nurse didn’t seem concerned.

“She basically said that he couldn’t stay where he was,” he said. “She was also very busy at the time from what I saw.”

Because COVID-19 had just started, Sacchetti said the security staff was told not to let people linger around the hospital if they didn’t need to be there.

He said the group of guards made the decision to remove Uko.

“Instead of talking to us, he would talk to his phone or type on his phone. So to me it seemed like he wasn’t serious about getting help,” Sacchetti said.

He said in hindsight, it may not have been the right decision.

Sacchetti testified that the guards had verbally asked Uko to leave before physically removing him from the hospital.

Amanullah Khan, another security guard, testified no one instructed them to remove Uko.

In his report filed a few days after the incident, Khan wrote that it was his decision to remove Uko from the hospital.

During inquest testimony, Khan said it was not his call. He said seeing the video made him remember differently.

Security guard Jason Pryputniski said he saw the police officers with Uko at the registration desk and it caught his eye.

Pryputniski confirmed the guards did not know Uko’s name at the time. He said the registration clerk did not know his name. He didn’t believe the police officers knew his name.

Pryputniski said the instruction to remove Uko came from Khan.

“I was there when they were bringing him outside. I didn’t go outside with him,” Pryputniski said.

The inquest will resume on Thursday, which is when witness testimony is expected to wrap up.