14-year-old drill rapper stabbed to death on London bus was due in court

Kelyan Bokassa was an aspiring rap artist before his death – Instagram

The 14-year-old aspiring drill rapper who was stabbed to death on a London bus was due in court for a machete offence.

Kelyan Bokassa died after he was attacked in front of horrified passengers travelling on the number 472 bus through Woolwich in south-east London on Tuesday afternoon.

Witnesses claim he was attacked by two boys, one of whom was said to be carrying a machete.

But court documents show he was himself due to appear at Bromley magistrates’ court on Friday, after allegedly taking a machete to his college in May 2024.

He was charged with possession of an offensive weapon in a public place having apparently taken the blade to Ravensbourne College in Greenwich.

The youngster is also said to have taken to social media to see if any of his followers had a “mindi” – which translated to knife in Somali – just an hour before he was killed.

Speaking after his death, the boy’s mother, Mary Bokassa, said he had been “groomed by gangs” after being put in care and running away and living on the streets.

There are fears the killing of the boy, who was “briefly” a pupil at St Columba’s Catholic Boys School in Bexleyheath, south-east London, may have been linked to his role as a drill rapper.

Known by the name “Grippa”, online tributes featured pictures and videos of him rapping.

A video clip shows a masked figure wearing black and holding a microphone as he performed for the camera in an underground car park.

Drill music has gained controversy for its often violent lyrics and is often associated with gangs.

Ms Bokassa said her “very kind and caring” son had returned home after a year on the streets, looking sick, underweight and tattooed.

“My son and others were taken advantage [of] by gangs,” she said. “They were groomed.”

She told BBC she asked for help and tried to prevent him from associating with gangs but did not receive support from the authorities, and her son “still had one foot on the streets” so was not surprised about his death.

“I feel hurt because I tried to prevent it,” she added. “I’ve tried so many, so many times. I screamed it, I said. ‘My son is going to be killed.’ I can’t believe he is gone. I cannot believe it.”

On Wednesday evening, around 40 mourners, including friends of the victim, gathered at a vigil held at St Mary Magdalene Church, which overlooks the bus stop where Kelyan died.

The Metropolitan Police urged anyone with information that could assist the investigation into his death to come forward.

Some 10 teenagers were killed in London last year, nine of whom were the victims of stabbing while one died in a shooting.

This was down sharply from 21 teenage deaths in the capital in 2023. The youngest victim in 2024 was 14.

According to HM Courts and Tribunal Service, Kelyan was previously accused of having a Stanley knife at a bike shed in Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, east London, in September 2023.

However, the alleged offence was withdrawn in September last year.

In April 2024, at Bromley Magistrates’ Court, he admitted possession of cannabis in Charlton, south-east London, around two months prior and was referred to a youth offender panel.

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