The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Sheku sister: I don’t feel safe here any more
The sister of Sheku Bayoh has said she does not feel safe in Scotland since his death. Kadi Johnson was addressing the first day of a public inquiry into her 31-year-old brother’s death in Kirkcaldy in 2015.
Lord Bracadale, who is chairing the inquiry, said he had set aside the first day to show what Mr Bayoh “meant to those he left behind”.
Mrs Johnson said the death of the trainee gas fitter – who moved to Scotland from London – had a profound impact on her family.
She said: “Because of the joy, love and freedom I experienced in Scotland I told my little brother at the age of 17 to join me.
“I thought it would be a safer place for a young black man to grow up than London was.
“I did not know my brother’s life would be cut short at the age of 31.
“When Sheku moved to Scotland he had no trouble settling in and quickly made friends who, until this day, fight on his behalf for justice.”
She added: “No one deserves to go through what we are going through.
“No parent should ever have to suffer the loss of a child. It makes me sad – and you, the inquiry may not want to hear this – but I no longer feel safe any more in Scotland.
“I feel nervous and worried for my children.
“I fear for the safety of my nieces and nephews.
“Why should I have to feel this way? Scotland is a place I loved and I always gave back.
“These children were born in Scotland – this is all they know.
“Why should we not have the privilege to enjoy Scotland like any other white person?”
Mr Bayoh’s mother Aminata Bayoh travelled from Sierra Leone for the hearing.
Another of Mr Bayoh’s sisters broke down in tears as she paid tribute to him.
Describing her younger brother as a “mummy’s boy”, Adama Jalloh began weeping and the hearing was adjourned while she recovered.
Her sister Mrs Johnson continued the statement on her behalf, saying: “Sheku was a fun-loving, cheeky boy.
“One thing that was unquestionable in that he loved his family – no doubt he was a mummy’s boy.”
The hearing was played a short video documenting Sheku’s life from his birth in Freetown in Sierra Leone to his eventual move to the Fife town after fleeing civil war in his home country.
Prior to the hearing, a vigil was held outside the inquiry venue, with hundreds gathering to support the family.
Mr Bayoh died on May 3 2015 after an incident in a street in Kirkcaldy involving Police Scotland officers. The inquiry, in Edinburgh, which started more than seven years after his death, aims to examine the circumstances surrounding his death and whether race was a factor.