..... ON THE STREETS OF LONDON, U.K.*
Over the past 5 years several British-Ghanaians have fallen victim to knife
and gun crime on the streets of London, United Kingdom. Many more have been
maimed. What are the causes of murder and mayhem? The problems are often
linked to gang culture, drugs, women or just random killing – a case of
being in the wrong place and the wrong time. Black men are being killed at a
rate of at least one a week. Some of the cases do not even come to the
limelight as the mainstream media are getting desensitised due to the sheer
volume of cases. The Central Criminal Courts at the Old Bailey is full of
black people – both victims’ families and perpetrators. Has society gone
wrong? Is it a case of bad parenting, neglect or children getting out of
control? Why are our children carrying weapons day and night on the streets
of London?
[image: The Russian Baikal pistol found in the youth's home]
In 2007 at least 52 young people lost their lives to guns and knives. In
2008 this was 49, nothing has changed. No matter how many media attention,
tighter gun and knife laws and awareness of this growing phenomenon the
number of casualties are increasing.
The most recent victims include Mr. Randy Osei-Boateng, 27, who was shot
dead as he sat in a parked car in broad daylight on Monday, May 9, 2011.
Detectives believe he was targeted by a lone gunman at around 4.10pm in
Lakeside Road, Shepherds Bush, West London. They are keeping an open mind
about the motive.
Mr Osei-Boateng, from Leigham Avenue, Streatham Hill, southwest London,
suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene.
It has been reported he was sat in the driver's seat next to his girlfriend
at the time of the attack.
The murder is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police’s Trident Unit.
Two teenagers aged 17 and 19 were arrested on May 19 and bailed until June
in connection with the inquiry.
Detective Inspector Mark Gower said: "This incident happened at a busy time
of the day just off the Shepherds Bush Road and there would have been lots
of people in the area at the time.”There will be people who witnessed what
has happened and we urge you to come forward if you have any information.
Trident understands and supports the community and will work closely with
witnesses who may have concerns about coming forward."
Mr Osei-Boateng’s death came just five days after Adeniyi Lateef Shode, 21,
was stabbed to death in Northolt, also in west London, and two days after
15-year-old Temidayo Ogunneye was stabbed to death in south London in an
alleged clash between two groups of youths.
On Tuesday, May 10, the family of 15-year-old Negus McLean, of Edmonton,
buried the teenager a month after he was stabbed to death in north London.
In the Voice Newspaper of 6 June 2011, the London weekly newspaper, the
Chairman of the Metropolitan Black Police Association (BPA) said, “The
London gun and knife crime should be treated like a public health issue.
The paper said nearly one black male loses his life each week.
It went further to say that we see gun crime and other serious violent
crimes as a societal problem, jot one just for the black community. It is
also dangerous to start pinning it to particular ethnicities or culture.
At one point it was Afro-Caribbean male, now it appears the Africans are the
victims.
Suddenly we find ourselves in living in a country where our children are
murdering each other. Murder for a cheap mobile phone. Murder to show how
hard they are, how deserving of respect. Murder for drug money, for wounded
pride. Murder for nothing at all.
The economy may be booming but lives - especially young lives - have never
been so pitifully cheap. Suddenly we find ourselves in a land that most of
us struggle to recognise. Knife and gun crime brutalises us all. A teenage
boy doing no one any harm is fatally stabbed in the stomach on a park bench
as he listens to music with friends. It is becoming commonplace. It is
becoming old news, God help us.
It is becoming only what we expect our children to do to each other. Murder
for a mobile phone - it is part of the British way of doing things. It
doesn't matter what the politicians say or how they spin the crime
statistics - something in our culture has broken.
If you get mugged or if you get into an argument with some passing stranger
or if you ask a group of lads to keep their language down, you run the very
real risk of facing someone with a weapon that can kill you.
That fear permeates everything. It coarsens all our lives, it cheapens
everything, it makes us afraid to open our mouths. Because we are afraid of
being killed for nothing.
This is what has changed - ugly little spats that would once have ended in
Accident and Emergency now end in the graveyard. What would once have been a
right-hander or a head butt is now a death sentence.
Teenager gunned down on South London Estate
[image: Teenager gunned down on south London estate]
Nana Darko-Frimpong, aged 18 from Kumawu was killed after being gunned down
outside a block of flats in South London on 6th June 2011. He was found
injured outside flats in Tulse Hill estate, Tulse Hill and died at the
scene.
Eye witnesses called police after hearing up to four shots being fired
outside Purser House at around 11pm then the sound of a car speeding off.
Metropolitan Police Officers are looking into whether the killing was
gang-related. He is the third man to be killed in south London in the space
of 14 days. The Metropolitan Police's Operation Trident unit, which
investigates gun crime in London's black communities, are investigating.
Detective Chief Inspector Gordon Allison said: "We would urge anyone who may
have seen or heard anything between the hours of 2130 and 2300, or seen a
suspicious vehicle in the area at the time of this murder, to contact us and
assist us in this investigation."
Chukka Umunna, the Labour MP for Streatham, said: "My condolences go out to
his family and friends. "This will have rocked them and the wider community
on the estate to the core."
*The victims of Ghanaian origin include the following:*
*STEPHEN BOACHIE -17* – stabbed to death on New Year’s Day 2007. Stephen was
a teenager who had come to Britain 5 years earlier for a better life
from Ghana.
He was hoping to study at Birmingham University. Killed on New Year's Day
*NASS OSAWE, 16* – stabbed to death at Angel Station, Islington on 27
December 2007 http://nass-osawe.gonetoosoon.org/
*FREDERICK MOODY-BOATENG, 18, *stabbed to death outside his front door in
Stockwell on 17 July 2008.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7523317.stm
http://freddy-moody.gonetoosoon.org/
[image: Mary Moody (white top, centre) walks with friends and relatives at a
vigil]
Mary Moody said Frederick was a much-loved son
*SYLVESTER SENYAH,* 33, Stabbed to death on 29 November 2010. His murderer
was recently given a life sentence at the Old Bailey. He will serve 14
years.
*SOLOMON SARFO, A 34 *year old Ghanaian man was stabbed to death in Brixton
in February 2011. It was a sad event when his beloved and distraught mother
flew from Ghana to bury him at Canvey Island.
On 27th May, 2011 a 14 year old boy was chased at Wood Green by a group of
several boys. He was clubbed down and died instantly.
On the same date, 27th May, near Tottenham Police Station in a car part, a
23 year old Ghanaian was stabbed by a Somalian boy and left to bleed to
death. Bishop Frimpong-Manson and his family laid the wreath at the site of
the incident.
On May 27th another young man of 20 years was trapped in his own home. When
his mother returned from a cemetery at the burial of another victim, she
found her own son stabbed 17 times in the house. He remains in a coma.
*Related videos*:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gjz8u8eTaVU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0IAzbSCF14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMMHIbH7ysA&feature=watch_response_rev
* *
*OTHER VICTIMS:*
*RHYS JONES, 11*
Shot dead by hoodie on bike as he walked home from football in Croxteth,
Liverpool.
*ANDREW HOLLAND, 16*
Stabbed to death outside a chip shop in Bolton. A man, 21, was charged.
* *
*MICHAEL MORGAN*
Schoolboy, 15, stabbed to death in a caravan at Lancing, West Sussex.
*ODWAYNE BARNES, 16*
Sixteen-year-old was stabbed to death by rival gang member in Birmingham in
March.
*MICHAEL DOSUNMU, 15*
Shot by two men who burst into bedroom in Peckham, London - it was mistaken
identity
*LEWIS SINGLETON*
18-year-old died of stab wounds after attack by gang in Southampton.
*SHANE OWOO, 16*
Drowned when louts threw him in a pond and threw stones in Bilston, West
Mids.
*ATIQ REHMAN, 18*
Battered to death by a gang at a convenience store in Milton Keynes.
*JASON SPENCER, 17*
The 17-year-old from Nottingham was found dying from knife wounds in March.
*BILLY COX, 15*
Shot in his bedroom in Clapham, South London, by gang of rival crack dealers
*ZAK DAVIS, 17*
Murdered after row with men at flats in Hayling Island, Hants. One man
charged
*MATTHEW COWELL*
The 17-year-old was shot with dad Keith and a friend in Bishops Stortford,
Herts.
*CHRISTOPHER JOHNSTON*
The 19-year-old was stabbed to death in Newcastle. A man, 21, has been
charged.
*Ryan McPHEE, 17*
Beaten to death in Morecambe, Lancs, in July. Two men charged with murder.
*KODJO YENGA, 16*
Stabbed by gang in school uniforms in Hammersmith. Four boys of 13-16
charged
*DALE LITTLE, 15*
Stabbed to death in car park in Totton, Hants, after row with skateboarders.
*ZUZANNA ZOMMER, 14*
Stabbed to death at a house in Leeds. A man, 39, has been charged with her
murder.
*SAMANTHA MADGIN*
The 18-year-old was stabbed in Newcastle. Four people have been charged.
*JOHN PREECE, 18*
Died from head injuries after being clubbed during a pub brawl in
Warminster, Wiltshire.
*PAUL ERHAHON, 14*
Gang stuck sword in chest in Leytonstone, London. During the trial of Paul
Erhahon's killers it became clear the attack on him was partly linked to
something as seemingly trivial as postcodes - in this case E11 and E15. The
Old Bailey jury heard a rivalry existed in estates close to Leytonstone town
centre.
Paul Benfield, 16, and *Kevin Adu-Marcet, 15 (of Ghanaian origin)* were
given life detention sentences with a minimum term of 13 years for murder.
Jordan Conn, 15, was also convicted of murder, and was given life with a
minimum term of 11 years. Nathan Desnoes, 16, was found guilty of
manslaughter and given a detention sentence of 12 years. Theo Diah, 19, was
also found guilty of manslaughter and given an indeterminate sentence with a
minimum term of seven years. Sentencing, Mr Justice Keith said: "There is
self-evidently a culture among boys of your age to do with the carrying of
knives which needs to be changed."
[image: Clockwise from top left: Paul Benfield, Kevin Adu-Marcet, Nathan
Desnoes, Theo Diah and Jordan Conn]
v:shapes="_x0000_i1028"> *There is self-evidently a culture among boys of
your age to do with the carrying of knives which needs to be changed*
Mr Justice Keith
* *
*MARK SMITH, 16
*Stabbed in
neck in Newcastle. Had Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) but was steering
clear of trouble when killed
*MICHAEL METCALFE*
The 19-year-old was stabbed in the heart by gatecrashers at a party in
Liverpool.
*SAM BROWN, 16*
Stabbed to death in Blackpool just before his GCSE’s. Two men have been
charged.
*JEVON HENRY, 18*
Stabbed in St John's Wood, London, in June. Asian men were seen fleeing the
scene.
*DWAYNE DOUGLAS, 18*
Stabbed in Tesco car park, Thornton Heath, London. Man of 23 charged with
murder
*SHANE JACKSON, 15*
Knifed just yards from his home in Newcastle. Fell dying at the feet of his
mother.
*KRISTIE JOHNSON*
The 19-year-old, of Rugeley, Staffs, died from multiple stab wounds in an
attack.
*KAMILAH PENISTON*
The 12-year-old was shot by her brother, 17, as he played with a gun in
Manchester.
*JAMES SMARTT-FORD*
15-year-old shot at disco held at ice rink in Streatham, South London, in
February.
*ADAM REGIS, 16*
Stabbed with sword in suspected gang initiation in Plaistow, London. No
charges
*MARTIN DINNEGAN, 14*
Died from knife wounds in Islington as two groups fought. Boy, 15, charged
with murder
*BEN HITCHCOCK, 16*
Stabbed in fight with gatecrashers who invaded a house party in Beckenham
*ANNAKA PINTO, 17*
Shot in Tottenham pub after GCSE’s during row between groups. Man, 21,
charged with murder
*SIAN SIMPSON, 18*
Walked into ambush by 15-strong 'girl gang' in Croydon. Girl, 18, charged
with murder
*MOHAMMED AHMED, 17*
Died in street in east London after being stabbed. Three teenagers seen
running away
*EDVIN JOHNSON, 19*
Stabbed in south east London. Died in hospital from leg wound after being
found in stairwell
*NATHAN FOSTER, 18*
Youth worker shot in Brixton following row about a gold chain. Boy, 17, on
murder charge
*DEAN LAHLOU, 18*
Stabbed on estate in Tottenham on his way home. Boy, 17, facing murder
charge
*RIZWAN DARBAR, 17*
Killed in row over stolen mobile phone. Seen here with his niece
*DANIELLE JOHNSON,17*
Died from stab wounds after attack in north London. Boy, 17, on attempted
murder charge
*ABU SHAHIN, 18*
Stabbed in July at Ilford, east London. He was attacked for no reason by two
men in street
Related articles:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7232344.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6383933.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7047649.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7859490.stm
*“We remember them.**
When we have decisions that are difficult to make,
We remember them.
When we have achievements that are based on theirs,
We remember them.
As long as we live, they too shall live,
for they are a part of us, as we remember them.” Anon***
*The author is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and the
Founder of Family Resolution Ltd, an organisation providing support and
advice for victims of violent crime in the Pan-London area and
worldwide. Email:
g.djaba@gmail.com *
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