A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment following the fatal stabbing of a father near the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. On April 7, 2022, Devon Brown, aged 30, murdered Okechukwu Iweha, 46, with a machete in an unprovoked attack. The incident has left a family mourning the loss of a beloved member, while Brown attempts to evade justice by fleeing abroad.
During the sentencing at the Old Bailey, Judge Anuja Dhir KC stated that Brown acted out of a “desire of revenge” against a man he mistakenly believed had stolen his bicycle and £10,000 in cash. Instead, he targeted Iweha, who was completely innocent.
Details of the Attack and Aftermath
The court heard that Brown was accompanied by Leandro Kaienga, 29, during the attack. Video evidence showed Kaienga kicking away Iweha’s shoe and retrieving his own hat from the street after the assault. Following the stabbing, both men discarded their blood-soaked clothing and the murder weapon in a nearby bin, then attempted to destroy the evidence by setting it on fire.
Brown had concealed the large machete in a sheath within his clothing. He repeatedly struck Iweha, who succumbed to his injuries on the pavement. A post-mortem examination later confirmed that a stab wound to the chest was the cause of death.
In a poignant victim impact statement, Ojiugo Mukasa, Iweha’s sister, addressed the court, expressing her family’s “profound grief and anger” over the “senseless act” that took her brother’s life. She described the loss as “cruel and inexplicable,” emphasizing the enduring impact of their tragedy. Mukasa highlighted that their family has been irrevocably altered, stating, “The trauma of losing Oke and the agony of the manner in which we lost him has imprinted lifelong grief upon our family.”
Mukasa directly confronted the defendants, questioning what they had gained from their actions. She accused them of tarnishing her brother’s character and delaying accountability for their violent crime.
Escape and Capture
The attack was captured on security footage, showing Brown cornering Iweha on Worchester Avenue after mistakenly identifying him as the thief. After the assault, Brown and Kaienga walked away, leaving Iweha to die alone. Their actions were met with criticism from the judge, who noted that they made no attempt to assist Iweha or contact emergency services.
Iweha’s body was discovered by a passing Uber driver, and Brown fled to the United States. He was eventually located by the Metropolitan Police in Dallas, Texas, and extradited back to the UK in January 2023.
At trial, Brown was convicted of murder and received a life sentence with a minimum term of 26 years. He also received concurrent sentences of 18 weeks for perverting the course of public justice and 16 months for possession of a knife blade. Kaienga was sentenced to 18 weeks for perverting the course of public justice and 23 weeks for possession of a knife blade, but he was released after serving his time while on remand.
This tragic case serves as a stark reminder of the devastating impact of violence and the importance of accountability in the pursuit of justice.
