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Five gang members jailed for street killing of Somalian student

Five young men who joined the son of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in a gang fight which led to the street killing of a Somalian student were jailed yesterday.

Anwar Qasim, 17, Guled Muse, 17, Mohammed Tumaye, 18, Abdi Abdullhe, 18, and Mohamed Said, 24, were members of a north London crew who attacked rival Mahir Osman, 18, in Camden Town. They received sentences of up to five years for charges ranging from conspiracy to wound to violent disorder.

Faisal Wangita, 25, the son of Amin, was jailed for five years in May for his part in the attack. His mother left Amin shortly before he died in Saudi Arabia and sought refuge first in Germany, then north London. Wangita was cleared of murder by an Old Bailey jury but found guilty of conspiracy to wound, conspiracy to possess offensive weapons and violent disorder.

Mr Osman died after being knifed 20 times in front of horrified bystanders in January last year. Some 13 youngsters have now been convicted or pleaded guilty to the attack. More are still being hunted.

During the trial jurors were shown video footage of Mr Osman's murder in a packed street. Brendan Finucane QC, prosecuting, talked them through the images, saying: "There are weapons clearly in open view. You will see the feathers from his Puffa jacket flying through the air as his jacket was punctured by the stab wounds."

Among the many witnesses was a Somalian man who heard one of the killers call out "Stab him through the heart" in an African dialect.

Qasim was caught on CCTV smashing a bottle on the prone body of Mr Osman.

Sentencing the five at the Old Bailey, following two lengthy trials, Judge Stephen Kramer QC said: "This is an example of the gang culture which is all too prevalent in London."

The youngsters were part of a Somalian gang called the North London Somalis. Mr Osman, an engineering student, was a member of a rival gang based in Camden.

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