Teenagers grin as they are jailed for life for the bus murder of Kelyan Bokassa

Two teenagers smiled as they murdered schoolboy Kelyan Bokassa by stabbing him 27 times with machetes on a London bus, a court heard.

Kelyan, 14, tried to protect himself with his school bag but he died from his injuries after he was attacked on the 472 double-decker at Woolwich Church Street in south east London on 7 January on his way home.

Two boys, both 16, fled the scene and hid for six days before they were eventually found and arrested.

The boys were caught in shocking CCTV footage carrying out the brazen attack.

The two 16-year-olds, from Woolwich and Plumstead, will be sentenced this afternoon after admitting murder possession of a bladed article.

The two teenagers appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey today (fri) wearing smart black suits.

Judge Mark Lucraft, KC, the Recorder of London, said the murder was a gang related planned killing.

The judge rejected a media application to name the two defendants, meaning their names cannot be reported.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer, KC, said: ‘At 2.06pm on 7 January 2025 Kelyan Bokassa boarded the route 472 bus at North Greenwich Station.

‘He was on his way to attend an appointment at the Youth Justice Centre in Woolwich, although unbeknown to him the appointment had, in fact, been cancelled.

‘The bus was equipped with CCTV cameras, which captured the circumstances of the
attack in full.

‘Kelyan went upstairs and sat on the back seat, next to the window on the nearside.

‘He himself was in possession of a knife, which was tucked into the waistband of his trousers where it stayed.

‘The footage shows that he took care to look around himself and out of the windows before he sat down, giving every impression that he was concerned for his safety.

‘The defendants boarded the bus about 20 minutes later. They were also armed. They were in possession of identical weapons, large machetes, which were concealed within their clothing.

‘The younger 16-year-old led the way to the top deck followed by the other boy. As he reached the top of stairs, he turned to look at Kelyan who was still sitting at the rear of the bus.

‘Both defendants then walked towards him with purpose, pulling out their knives as they did so.

‘Upon reaching Kelyan, apparently without saying anything at all, they both immediately began to stab him.

‘Since Kelyan 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.

‘The footage shows that the attack continued for about 13 or 14 seconds during which the older boy thrust his knife towards Kelyan 15 times, while the younger boy thrust his
knife towards Kelyan 12 times.

‘Kelyan 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.’

CCTV footage showed Kelyan boarding the bus wearing a blue baseball cap and walking to the back of the top deck, looking through the window behind him.

The two killers then boarded and immediately approached Kelyan and began stabbing and slashing at him with large weapons while a passenger on the seats in front ran away.

Members of the public began to scream and run away from the bus and after the killers ran away Kelyan was able to walk down the stairs before collapsing on a seat on the lower deck.

Kelyan’s relatives sobbed in the public gallery as the footage was shown but the two boys showed no trace of emotion.

Ms Heer said: ‘Kelyan managed to stumble down the aisle of the bus to the stairs where another passenger went to his assistance.

‘He was heard to say, “Take me to my mum’s. I want my mum,” before his legs buckled. He was bleeding heavily from a wound to his leg.

‘Members of the public were able to flag down a passing police car. The officers boarded the bus found Kelyan Bokassa lying on a seat on the lower deck. His eyes were open, but he was non-responsive and his body was limp.

‘Officers commenced CPR which was taken over by ambulance staff arriving at the scene.

‘Kelyan Bokassa was moved to the footpath where open heart surgery was performed but, despite the best efforts of the emergency services, he was pronounced life extinct at the scene at 3.23pm.’

Kelyan had eight stab wounds to the chest, arm and thighs, with other knife damage to his clothes and bag.

Footage shows the killers running away and younger boy throwing his machete into the river.

The older boy phoned his mother and she booked a taxi under a false name to pick up the killers.

Later that evening the killers uploaded Snapchat videos of them dancing to music and smoking a spliff.

The younger 16-year-old laughed as the videos were played in court.

Kelyan’s mother Marie Bokassa read her victim impact statement in court wearing a black dress.

She later left court as footage of the attack on her son was played.

‘I stand here not just as a mother but as a broken soul whose life was changed forever when my child’s life was taken from me by another child using a knife,’ the mother said.

‘I speak through the silence my child left behind, a silence that now goes through every corner of my home, my heart and my dreams.

‘My child had a future and heartbeat full of hope. That life was not yours to take. That moment of violence may have lasted seconds but its consequences are eternal.

‘You did not just take a life, you shattered an entire world, you broke a family, you shattered a future and left me broken inside.

‘It is a wound no justice can ever heal.

‘I miss hugging him, cooking for him, being his Mum and him calling me Mum.

‘Kelyan loved football, he thought about being a footballer when he was older and now he will never kick a ball again.

‘He was fluent in French which would have helped so many opportunities for his future.

‘He also had a passion for drawing and was extremely creative.

‘He loved Mr Bean which we would watch together.

‘He would bring me flowers on my birthday and on his birthday because he knew how important he was to me.

‘His friends are not ready to accept what has happened to him, they are still in shock, very traumatised, heartbroken and lost without him.

‘There are two other children involved in this case. As they progress into adults I will never see my son again.

‘They have taken that away from me. At least my son is at peace, and these two kids are going to have a really tough time.

‘I ask myself what happened to these two boys which resulted in this terrible act of violence and I cannot imagine.

‘What they did is horrific and I don’t know what has led them to do this.

‘How can children behave like this, so completely angry and violent.

‘What have these children been exposed to show such behaviour?

‘These two young boys took my son’s life without hesitation and now have to face the consequences of those actions here today.

‘My only hope is they get help they need before they are ever released to ensure no other mother has to stand here to face this again.’

The teenagers were arrested on 15 January 2025.

The younger 16-year-old told police “I’m telling you right now bruv, I’m not involved bruv, not f—ing involved.”

When asked what he knew about Keylan he replied ‘f—k all’.

Ms Heer said: ’When shown the CCTV footage of the incident and asked how he felt, he said, “Sad to see innit. Young person lose his life man, it’s sad.”

‘When asked what his involvement had been, he responded “f—k all.” He said he did not want to watch the CCTV because it was distressing and sad to see a young kid get stabbed but he continued to deny that he was involved.’

Charles Langley, KC, representing the younger 16-year-old, said there had undoubtedly been ‘child exploitation and grooming’ of the teenager.

He said there were concerns about his safety being at a Young Offender’s Institution with older boys.

The younger 16 year old has a previous conviction for possession of a zombie knife which was committed while he was on bail and one for possession of cannabis on 12 December for which he received an absolute discharge the following day.

The older boy has convictions for robbery and possession of a bladed article from March 2024 after approaching two males and threatening them with a machete.

He was subject to a referral order when he committed murder.

The teenagers both admitted murder and possession of a bladed article.

In a victim impact statement read to court, Kelyan’s father Hashim Mohamed said his loss had created a void which was hard to describe.

He said: ’I will always wonder why whatever conflict existed could not be squashed with words.

‘I wonder why anyone would believe Kelyan deserved to be viciously stabbed to death or why anyone believed this could be done with impunity.

‘These events have made us think about the problems of youth crime and how it might be eradicated.

‘We wonder why the possibilities for joy are often fleeting for black boys like ours who exist in a world where violence, death and criminality are normalised.’

Martin Rutherford, KC, defending the older boy, referenced Mr Mohamed’s words saying: ‘This hearing is about three children none of whom have ever been offered or exposed to the possibilities for joy that many of the rest of us are able to take for granted.’

He said: ‘There is a link between this defendant’s immaturity and the grooming he was exposed to and the further exposure he sustained to violence and criminality.’

He said the teenager had first come to the attention of authorities when he was excluded from school.

Mr Langley, representing the younger boy, suggested the attack was not planned, which the judge rejected.

He said social services had been involved with the boy’s family and his behaviour worsened as he became involved with older boys at secondary school.

Judge Lucraft jailed both boys for life with a minimum term of 15 years and 10 months.

He said: ‘You both boarded that bus and the CCTV shows you were both armed with long machetes. Once on bus you went straight upstairs.

‘You approach Kelyan, the three of you recognise each other and you two take out machetes and immediately began to attack Kelyan stabbing him.

‘CCTV shows clearly you were smiling when you did so.

‘Audio reveals the screams from members of the public witnessing this attack.

‘For any parent to lose a child is a tragedy and in the circumstances of this case particularly so.

‘No sentence can ever truly reflect the loss of a life.

‘Kelyan’s mother poses a question many listening will be asking, how can children behave like this, so completely violent and angry? What have children been exposed to show such behaviour as this?

‘Many of us can only imagine the impact of grief on Kelyan’s mother and family.

‘Sitting here as a judge it is sadly an all too frequent, senseless loss of another young life to the horrors of knife crime.

‘When one looks at the CCTV this was a murder with significant planning and clear premeditation.

‘The victim was particularly vulnerable because of his age.

‘The weapons used in this case were particularly dangerous being large machetes.

‘There is the use of sustained and excessive force to the victim.

‘It is very clear your intention was to kill.’

The younger boy grinned as he was taken down after sentence.

The killers laughed and shared jokes in the dock while awaiting sentence and grinned up at people sat in the public gallery.

The older boy was a cannabis user, the court heard.

The younger boy was involved in drugs and drug dealing and linked to the Woolwich Dockyard Gang, the court heard.

He had been found with drugs and large sums of money.

The boy had also been arrested for threatening his family with a knife in the home.