Brother’s tributes to Benny

THE brother of a man found collapsed at a Huddersfield gym yesterday has paid tribute to him following his death.

Police were called to The Gym Group in Beck Road at just after 1.30pm on Wednesday after “Benny” Benoit Karikumutima was found dead in a changing room.

He was the Congolese-born owner of Benny’s Barbers at Bradford Road, Fartown.

Benny, who has four children, moved to the UK more than a decade ago and much of his family still live in Africa.

He is thought to have three sisters and two brothers.

Messaging the Examiner from Cape Town, South Africa, his brother Joseph Kika Mazambi, 41, gave permission for photos of the 46-year-old businessman to be released.

He said: “As a young brother of Benny Benoit, I just want to pay tribute to my brother, in the name of Mazambi and his family, I say rest in peace Yosia Benny Benoit K Mazambi.”

Tributes have poured in for the popular barber online and a vigil was held outside the barbershop yesterday evening.

Lisa White posted on Facebook: “My thoughts are with the family at this difficult time with the loss of a true gentleman.”

Blyth Ryan added: “Benny was such a great guy and an amazing barber.”

Rudo Sithole said: “A good friend, a good brother, a good everything. We are heartbroken.”

Dylan Noble, manager of the gym where Benny was found dead, said: “We are saddened by the death of member Benny Karikumutima yesterday at our Beck Road site.

“Benny was a frequent visitor to the gym, well liked among the staff and members alike and we all extend our deepest sympathy to Benny’s family and friends.”

Such was the popularity of Benny that within a few hours of his death a group of friends gathered between his shop and the Harp pub to raise a glass in his name.

Friend Danny Johnson said he had been “well loved” and had arrived in the UK as an asylum seeker from the Congo about 12 years ago.