Thug jailed for a minimum of 25 years for stabbing reveller to death in a row over nightclub queue

A BRUTAL thug who knifed an "amazing" young father to death in a row over pushing in a nighclub queue was jailed for life with a minimum of 25 years today.

Junior Afolayan, 24, murdered university student Kabba Kamara, 23, in the City of London on December 6 last year.

They had been at an R&B night at the swanky Caravaggio restaurant when a row over "pushing and shoving" in the cloakroom queue spilled out onto the street outside, the Old Bailey heard.

The brawl escalated and Afolayan ran at Mr Kamara with a knife and plunged it into his stomach.

Mr Kamara, who had a three-year-old son, was rushed to hospital but died the following day.

A post mortem gave the cause of death as multiple organ failure as a result of a puncture wound to the abdomen.

Afolayan, of Battersea, south London, was found guilty of murder.

Brothers and co-defendants Ayodi Odunyemi, 24, and Olatunde Odunyemi, 25, of Kennington, south London, were cleared of the charge.

Afolayan has a previous conviction for having an offensive weapon - an axe - in Birmingham in 2012, it was revealed today.

Summarising an impact statement from his sister Ruth Kamara, prosecutor Alan Kent QC said: "Kabba was extremely talented and excelled at sports.

"He had just embarked on a degree in business management.

"His death has significantly changed the quality of her life and she has been carrying on simply for her children and husband.

"Not a day has gone by where she has not shed tears."

He added: "He was described as a young man who always defused misunderstanding.

"Yet on the fatal night he was killed, there was no one present to prevent his death."

Mr Kabba was also described by his partner, Annieka Mochice, as "an amazing father", who "loved his son and his partner so very much", he added.

Jailing Afolayan, Judge Stephen Kramer QC said: "People had been in that restaurant celebrating birthdays and having a good time. They came outside and milled around.

"Unfortunately there were arguments and scuffles, with a lot of shouting, and the noise of smashing glass and violence. That crowd of people involved included you."

Afolayan claimed he thought Mr Kamara had attacked one of his friends.

But Judge Kramer said: "That was no excuse for you to attack him with a lethal weapon and kill him.

"I have heard and read the family impact statements. It is clear that you have deprived his family of a much loved son, brother, nephew and father.

"What you did was in public in the early hours of the morning, in a busy street in front of members of the public who had simply been enjoying a good night out.

"You are an intelligent and educated young man which makes what I have to do all the more distressing."

Afolayan, wearing a dark green tracksuit, made no reaction as the sentence was passed down.

Describing the murder Mr Kent said: "Mr Kamara attended with friends of his, they were celebrating a birthday. The two groups didn't know each other, it wasn't as if there was any history."

At the end of the night, as clubbers went to pick up their coats, an argument broke out by the cloakroom as there was "no orderly queue", the court heard.

Mr Kent said: "There wasn't any trouble as far as we know during the course of the event inside the nightclub.

"The end of the evening came, the event finished. It was December and a lot of people all at the same time, it seemed, wanted to get their coats.

"There wasn't, it seemed, any orderly queue.

"There began to be a little bit of pushing and shoving. It's not clear who started it."

A row broke out and Mr Kent said Afolayan said: "Let's go outside and get the ting (CORRECT)" referring to the knife.

Someone else said "no beef in here", and Afolayan, wearing a long tan-coloured camel coat, was thrown out the club.

CCTV footage of the fight outside the Italian restaurant in Leadenhall Street, in the Square Mile, shortly after 3am.

The video showed the trio attack Mr Kamara, before Ayodi Odunyemi turned and shouted to Afolayan.

Mr Kent said an expert, having studied the footage, claims he shouted to Afolayan "where's the knife, or words to that effect".

Afolayan then fatally stabbed Mr Kamara.