Sheku Bayoh death inquiry to examine if race was factor
● Family welcome ‘wide ranging’ remit of judge leading inquiry
A public inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh in custody will seek to establish whether race was a factor.
Justice secretary Humza Yousaf set out the terms of reference for the inquiry yesterday after the death of Mr Bayoh in 2015. His family have claimed that his race was a factor.
Mr Bayoh, who was originally from Sierra Leone but had lived in Scotland since he was 17, was restrained by six officers in Kirkcaldy in 2015 and lost consciousness. He died at hospital and was found to have suffered 23 injuries. The inquiry will examine the circumstances leading up to his death, the post incident management and subsequent investigation into his death.
The inquiry will also establish the extent to which Mr Bayoh’s actual or perceived race played a part in events, if any.
Mr Yousaf said yesterday: “I met with key parties, including the family of Mr Bayoh, to discuss the approach to the terms of reference.
“While they do not feature all of the issues raised with me during my discussion, the terms of reference do focus on the incident and are sufficiently broad enough to allow the chair to look at wider issues he may consider relevant to the inquiry.”
Mr Bayoh had taken the drugs MDMA and another drug known as Flakka before his death and his behaviour has been described as having turned aggressive.
The inquiry is to be headed up by former High Court judge Lord Bracadale. He said: “I welcome the announcement of the terms of reference of the public inquiry. I believe that they will enable my inquiry to conduct a thorough examination of the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Bayoh and the wider issues arising.
“I understand the impact which the Covid-19 pandemic has inevitably had on preparation for the inquiry.”
The inquiry was announced after the Crown confirmed it would not be bringing any prosecutions over his death.
Aamer Anwar, lawyer for the family, said: “The Bayoh family welcomes the unprecedented and wide-ranging terms of reference now published for the public inquiry. Sheku’s loved ones have long believed that the Crown Office and Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) betrayed their struggle for justice, but they hope this inquiry will robustly search for the truth and hold power to account.
“I pay tribute to the courage and perseverance of Collette [Bell] – Sheku’s partner – and Sheku’s family, without whom this inquiry would never have been possible.”
The Scottish Government said the Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on the ability to take forward parts of the work, included identifying a venue for the inquiry, as resources have had to be “focused on essential coronavirus priorities”.