Two 16-year-old boys have been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 15 years and 10 months for the brutal machete murder of 14-year-old Kelyan Bokassa on a London bus in Woolwich. The defendants, who cannot be named for legal reasons, attacked the teenager with machetes on the upper deck of a route 472 bus on 7 January, stabbing him 27 times in what prosecutors described as a planned ambush.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC, the Recorder of London, delivered the sentence at the Old Bailey on Friday, 25 July, noting that CCTV footage showed the attackers “smiling as they did so” during the 14-second assault. The judge described Kelyan’s death as a “senseless loss” of yet another young life to the “horrors of knife crime.
The victim, an aspiring rapper who performed under the name “Grippa”, was travelling to an appointment at the Youth Justice Centre when he was cornered on the back seat of the bus. “Kelyan Bokassa had no time to reach for his own knife, which remained in his trousers, and instead tried in vain to protect himself with his school bag,” prosecutor Deanna Heer KC told the court.
The Attack
The attack occurred at approximately 14:27 on Tuesday, 7 January, on Woolwich Church Street near Woolwich Ferry. According to court evidence, Kelyan had boarded the bus shortly after 14:00 and took a seat at the back of the upper deck, where CCTV showed him looking around nervously, “giving every impression that he was concerned for his safety”.
Twenty minutes later, the two defendants boarded the bus armed with identical machetes hidden in their clothing. They walked directly towards Kelyan with purpose and, without speaking a word, launched their violent assault. “Since Kelyan Bokassa was seated on the back seat, he was cornered, unable to escape as the defendants repeatedly thrust their knives towards him, smiling as they did so,” Ms Heer said.
The bus driver activated his emergency alarm and stopped at Woolwich Ferry, prompting the attackers to flee. Passengers on the upper deck fled in panic, with witnesses describing “intense screaming from the back of the bus and the victim shouting, ‘Help. Help. I’ve been stabbed'”.
Final Moments
Fellow passengers attempted to save Kelyan’s life, moving him to a seat on the lower deck whilst the driver called 999. In his final moments, the teenager was heard saying “take me to my mum’s. I want my mum” before his legs buckled as he bled heavily from a wound to his leg that had severed his femoral artery.
Members of the public flagged down a passing police car, but despite the best efforts of officers, paramedics and the London Air Ambulance, Kelyan died at the scene at 15:23. One of the machetes used in the attack was discarded in the River Thames but was later recovered by police.
Investigation and Arrests
The Metropolitan Police launched an extensive manhunt following the murder, with Scotland Yard taking the unusual step of releasing CCTV images and naming two suspects – Colin Chabikwa, 15, and Mosawar Zazi, 16 – as part of a public appeal for information.
The two defendants were arrested at an address in Eltham during the early hours of Wednesday, 15 January, following what Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lee described as officers “working around the clock”. They were charged the following day and initially pleaded not guilty.
However, at a hearing on 23 May at the Old Bailey, both teenagers unexpectedly pleaded guilty to murder and possession of an offensive weapon. One defendant had indicated in advance he would admit murder, whilst the second initially planned to plead not guilty but changed his plea at the last moment, causing audible gasps and tears from Kelyan’s family members present in court.
Mother’s Heartbreak
In a deeply emotional victim impact statement read to the court, Kelyan’s mother Marie Bokassa spoke of her devastation and the warning signs she had desperately tried to address. She revealed that her son had been “groomed by gangs from the age of six” and that she had repeatedly sought help from authorities.
“I feel hurt because I tried to prevent it. I’ve tried so many, so many times. I screamed it, I said, ‘My son is going to be killed,'” Ms Bokassa said. She described spending Christmas with her son after he had been in care for several years, but remained concerned he still had “one foot in the streets”.
Speaking through tears in court whilst wearing black, Ms Bokassa painted a picture of a boy who loved drawing, rap music, Mr Bean, and cooking for his friends. “He would put music on and we’d dance together in the living room,” she recalled. “He loved Mr Bean, which we watched together, and he would laugh. I miss his laugh, miss his voice.”
The grieving mother revealed she had spent what would have been Kelyan’s 15th birthday at his graveside. “I will never see his children or be a grandmother and he will never have his own family,” she said.
Plea to Young People
In a powerful message directed at young people who carry knives, Ms Bokassa made an impassioned plea: “To the young people who carry knives, I beg you to stop, before you raise that blade, think of your own mother, think of the mothers who will cry every night like I do, who will scream into her pillow, who will walk past her child’s empty room and collapse with grief.”
She added: “My child had a name, it was Kelyan, a future, a heartbeat full of hope. That life was not theirs to take. That moment of violence may have lasted seconds, but the consequences are eternal. They didn’t just take a life; they shattered an entire world. They broke a family, they buried a future, and they left me, a mother dead inside with wounds no justice can ever heal.”
Previous Convictions
The court heard that both defendants had previous convictions for knife possession, with one serving a youth court referral order at the time of the fatal stabbing. One had a conviction from 2023 for possessing a knife.
Police Response
Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lee, who led the Metropolitan Police investigation, described the case as “deeply troubling for all involved”. She noted: “The harsh reality in London is that violence disproportionately affects young black men and boys. The fact we’re seeing so many teenagers like Kelyan die should be at the forefront of the minds of every politician, every policy maker and everyone who wants” to address this crisis.
DCI Lee also praised “the members of the public that comforted Kelyan in his final moments and the witnesses who entrusted my investigation team with their testimonies. It was your bravery that helped us secure justice.”
Wider Context
Kelyan’s death marked another tragic loss in London’s ongoing battle with knife crime. He was among several teenagers who lost their lives to knife violence in the capital during 2024. Just three months before his death, 15-year-old Daejaun Campbell was fatally stabbed on Eglinton Road, less than a mile and a half from where Kelyan was attacked.
The murder sent shockwaves through the Woolwich community, with local residents calling for increased police presence and more youth services. A vigil was held at St Mary Magdalene church overlooking the bus stop where the stabbing occurred, with friends remembering Kelyan as having a “pure heart” and someone who “would always be there for you”.
Kelyan had briefly attended St Columba’s Catholic Boys’ School in Bexleyheath and had spent time at a children’s home in Deal, Kent. His mother described him as “very articulate” with interests in football, music and art, adding that he was an Arsenal supporter who “loved to have his friends around and when they were round he would want to cook for them.
As one of the defendants smiled whilst being sent down from the dock, Kelyan’s mother reflected: “At least my son is at peace, and those two kids are going to have a really tough time. I ask myself what has happened to those two boys that has resulted in that terrible act of violence, and I cannot imagine how can they be so angry.”
The sentencing marks the conclusion of a case that has highlighted the devastating impact of knife crime on families and communities across London, with authorities continuing to grapple with how to prevent such senseless losses of young lives.
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