There were ugly scenes in the dock at the Old Bailey as two youngsters were found guilty of murdering Andre Aderemi, with one of the convicted murderers lunging at the other.
Rodney Mukasa, 20, and Ali Zahawy, 19, were this morning found guilty of the murder of Mr Aderemi, who was stabbed to death after a feud that culminated in a brutal attack on the 19-year-old last summer.
Femi Cela, 20, was cleared of murder, but found guilty of manslaughter. The fourth defendant, Jamell Lonergan, 19, will likely face a retrial after the jury could not reach a verdict.
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Cela claimed self defence after he told the court he had been stabbed by Mr Aderemi during the chase that ended in Mr Aderemi being stabbed, kicked and beaten to death in the Monks Hill estate on August 16 last year.
The court heard the four defendants had gone after Andre after a long-running feud between Andre’s gang Money Habits, and the group the four styled themselves as – the Shrublands Boys.
Extra security officers were ordered into the dock as the tension between the defendants came to a head during the verdict.
Judge Zoe Smith also ordered that the defendants sit, rather than the usual custom of receiving the verdicts standing, in an effort to prevent violent scenes.
After Mukasa’s guilty verdict was delivered he became restless and could be heard saying “I need to get out”.
He stood up and made his way to the door of the dock, walking by Zahawy, shouting”f***ng murderer, f***ing prick” at him.
Zahawy stood up and lunged at Mukasa, before he was restrained by five of the 10 security officers in the dock.
The two were ushered out but their shouting could still be heard through the courtroom walls, while Lonergan had his head in his hands, crying.
But the trio of Mukasa, Lonergan and Cela had fallen out with their former friend Cela during the trial, with Cela’s barrister accusing Mukasa and his co-defendants of trying to put the blame on his client.
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Mukasa claimed Zahawy had agreed to “plead g to the m”, meaning guilty to the murder, while the four were in custody at HMP High Down.
But once the trial started and it became clear Zahawi was going to claim the others were responsible and not him, the former friends fell out.
They had to be kept in more distant cells from one another, while Judge Smith commented that she could hear the defendants shouting and arguing in the cells from her own room.
Zahawy also had to be brought into the dock separately, after the other three defendants had taken their seats and security officers were in place.
City of London police also reported to the court that the defendants had been making “gun gestures” in the dock during the trial.
Zahawy, of Bramble Close, Mukasa, of Greenview Avenue and Cela, of Fryston Avenue, are due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey tomorrow (May 4).
Lonergan, of Woodcroft Road, Thornton Heath, is due to face a retrial.
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