Heartbroken mum of knife victim Kelyan opens up after son was targeted by gangs aged 6 and murdered at 14

FROM the age of six, Kelyan Bokassa was preyed on by gang members who recruited him into their drug-filled world despite his mum Mary’s battle to keep him safe.

Today Mary has told how she would track him down to park benches in the middle of the night and beg him to come home — but he was too scared his handlers would kill him.

Kelyan, 14, was stabbed to death on a bus in Woolwich, South East London, in broad daylight on Tuesday.

Brooke Kinsella, MBE, who set up to help battle knife crime after her brother was stabbed to death said: “Kelyan never stood a chance.

"As many as 200,000 young people could be entangled in these gangs.”

And Mary, 50, fought back tears, as she recalled the day she always dreaded — but knew would come.

Overlooking the O2 Arena from her balcony — where just a few weeks ago her son had scrawled “I love you mum” on the wall — she tells the Sun on Sunday: “I tried to prevent it.

“I screamed. I said, ‘My son is going to be killed’.”

Throughout her home are photos of the “polite” boy who loved to cook, smiling and playing.

There are awards too, displayed on her living room wall, which showed he excelled in English lessons.

Four years ago he was taken into care but was, she says, so miserable that he would run away.

She took legal action to get him back, but without success.

Mary, originally from the Central African Republic, moved to London from France where she had Kelyan and brought him up on her own.

After Arsenal fan Kelyan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at six, there was an arson attack on their home and eventually at ten he was taken into care.

Mary says: “I was moved from one place to another by the council. The properties were not suitable for me and my son but it was all they had.

“Then our flat was set on fire. We had to run away from the flames.

“And that is when he was taken into care against my wishes. He was so unhappy that he frequently ran away. Kelyan had no choice but to find a family and that was the streets.

“I begged for contact with my son. I had to get the support of a lawyer.

“The separation was extremely harsh on his mental health.

“At one point he was missing for a year and was living on the street. He finally turned up at my doorstep, sick, underweight and tattooed.

“If I questioned him he wouldn’t tell me anything about his friends."

Mary remembers he had turned into a ghost-like figure.

She said: “We had to chase him at night, and we found him on a bench in the Stratford area.

“We said to him, ‘We are here when you are ready to come home’.

“He wouldn’t tell me what he was doing or who he was with.

“I wanted him to come back with me, but he would not listen. He was damaged. He had been taken from me.”

The teenager's killer has not been found but it is feared Kelyan was cut down amid a violent turf war between a gang he was linked to, Wildbatch, and their enemies WoolyO, who compete to control the crack trade.

On the day he died, it was his first time back at school after a spell in a youth referral centre.

Hours before his death, he gave his mum a hug she will never forget. Mary recalled: “He came home from class at about 1pm.

“He played with the dog and then he caught the bus to Woolwich to see his social worker. That was the last time I saw my son.

“He had problems with the law, but we were trying to sort it out. He was a good son — he was polite, caring and very kind.

“He became a rapper because he was not given any other opportunities. He was using rap to express his anger and cope with it.

“The care system broke him.”

Tributes to the teenager were posted across social media and at the scene of his death, where dozens of flowers and notes were left.

His former head teacher at Newhaven School, a pupil referral unit and specialist school in Eltham, South East London, described him as “funny, kind and ambitious.”

Last year 11 teenagers were killed in London, nine of whom were the victims of stabbing, while one died in a shooting.

‘Caring and very kind’

In 2023, 21 teenagers were killed in the capital. Former Met Detective Peter Bleksley told The Sun on Sunday that early intervention, including “education and vocational training” can steer children from gangs.

Ex-cop Arthur Gray, who has just retired from the Met after 31 years, said the biggest problem in combating gangs is police cuts.

Campaigner Brooke added: “The Labour Government has pledged to cut knife crime by 50 per cent over the next ten years. I desperately hope they succeed.”

Pastor Lorraine Jones-Burell lost her son Dwayne Simpson, 20, to knife crime in Brixton in 2014. The campaigner, who was given an MBE, said: “Unless something is done, more lives will be lost.”

She said: "I am calling on the Government to declare a state of emergency to tackle knife crime.

"They need to respond to this with a higher level of importance and humanity.

“No child is born a killer. They are born pure and innocent. We all have a responsibility for how we nurture our children and I mean as a society helping parents. 

“We have seen year after year how a number of families have been struggling under government cuts and high inflation even to the degree of food poverty and utilities crisis. 

“Many homes have become unbearable for some and raising children very difficult. 

“Our communities should be well equipped and resourced to cater to the innovation, aspirations, talents, and gifts our children have. 

“Instead, impoverished environments and lack of adequate investment to community centres make it impossible to nurture our youth in a healthy and human manner.

“Young people require trauma hubs with qualified counsellors, outreach workers and life coaches. We also need knife amnesty zones that are not surveilled by CCTV to encourage their use.

“The level of violence, trauma, fear, and distrust is at its worst but can still be fixed. Politicians need to rebuild our trust and confidence not just the police.”

She said social media companies were to blame for allowing content promoting knife crime and gang lifestyles to Britain's youth.

Lorraine added: "Social media has gripped our children, giving them too much media access and online sales of knives and machetes.

"How did these boys manage to get a machete? How did they manage to even get an interest or desire to own a sword and then use it to kill?

“Children often play out what they learn and are exposed to.”

Known online by his drill rap name Grippa, Kelyan already had various convictions, including for possession of cannabis, possession of a Stanley knife and the theft of £7 of snacks from a Greggs branch.

He had been due to appear in court on Friday, charged with possession of a machete.

Last September another of his friends was killed in a knife attack.