A 14-year-old schoolboy cried out “I want my mum” after being fatally stabbed by two teenagers wielding machetes on a London bus, a court heard. The defendants, now 16, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have now been handed life sentences having previously pleaded guilty to Kelyan’s murder and possessing a knife. They were both sentenced to serve a minimum term of 15 years and 10 months.
Kelyan Bokassa, an aspiring rapper, was attacked in broad daylight on a route 472 bus in Woolwich, south-east London, on the afternoon of January 7. The brutal assault lasted just 14 seconds, during which he was stabbed 27 times while trapped in the back seat of the bus. Two 16-year-old boys appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday, July 25, where they pleaded guilty to murder and possession of a knife.
During the sentencing hearing, CCTV footage revealed how they boarded the bus with machetes hidden in their clothes before launching a silent and targeted attack on Kelyan.
Opening the case, prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said Kelyan had boarded the bus at around 2pm, heading to a Youth Justice Centre appointment.
He appeared anxious, glancing out the windows and around the top deck before sitting at the back. He was carrying a knife in the waistband of his trousers, though it remained untouched throughout the assault.
Just before 2.30pm, the two defendants boarded the same bus and headed directly for Kelyan.
Witnesses described the pair as moving “with purpose” before suddenly producing their weapons and launching into a frenzied attack.
“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,” said Ms Heer.
As other passengers fled in panic, Kelyan tried in vain to defend himself with his schoolbag. After the attackers fled the bus at Woolwich Ferry, the injured boy stumbled toward the stairs.
A witness heard him say: “Take me to my mum’s. I want my mum,” before he collapsed from a fatal leg wound.
Despite efforts from bystanders and emergency services, he died at the scene at 3.23pm.
One of the machetes was recovered from the River Thames after being discarded, and the attackers were swiftly identified from CCTV footage.
In a powerful victim impact statement, Kelyan’s mother, Marie Bokassa, spoke through tears about the devastating loss of her son, who had celebrated his last birthday just weeks before. “I miss his laugh, miss his voice,” she said. “I will never see his children or be a grandmother and he will never have his own family.”
She also expressed a sense of sorrow for the lives of the two boys responsible.
“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.
“What they did was horrific and I do not know what has led them to do this, and maybe I will never.”
The court heard both defendants had previous convictions for carrying knives.