Coroner’s inquest called into Samwel Uko’s death

At just 20 years old, his life ended too soon, but Samwel Uko’s story is not over and may help prevent future suicides.

The Saskatchewan Coroners Service has made the decision to hold an inquest into his death.

Uko’s body was recovered from Wascana Lake on May 21.

The Saskatchewan Coroners Service is responsible for the investigation of all sudden, unexpected deaths. The purpose of an inquest is to establish who died, when and where that person died, and the medical cause and manner of death.

According to his family, Uko went to the hospital seeking help hours before his suicide.

“That means he left the hospital and went straight to commit suicide. I was so upset,” said Justin Nyee, Uko’s uncle. “How does a person who comes in the morning seeking help, you send them away and then they come back again in the evening – and this time they come with a police officer – and still, you kick him out?”

The coroner’s jury may make recommendations to prevent similar deaths. The date and location of the inquest will be determined at a later date, taking into account the precautions in place to limit the spread of COVID-19 and the need to schedule previously postponed inquests.

The NDP welcome the inquest but is critical that it was announced on the same day that the government voted down a motion calling for a suicide prevention strategy.

“Samwel was struggling, and he reached out for help repeatedly. That help simply wasn’t there when he needed it,” said Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili in a release. “When people are waiting an average of 13 hours to get mental health supports in our largest cities’ ERs, clearly more needs to be done to ensure that no other family goes through what Mr. Uko’s family has gone through.”

Nyee reached out to the opposition when he learned that the NDP was calling for the inquest.

“What happened to Samwel should not happen to any person,” said Nyee. “Samwel’s family welcomes the news that this inquest will happen, and we want to see more done so that people reaching out for help are not turned away so tragically, the way Samwel was.”