GRIEVING MUM HITS 0UT AT ‘RACIST CPS AND POLICE’
Teen death suspect escapes prosecution:
THE mother of a young teenage boy found dead in a river has accused South Wales Police and the Crown Prosecution Service of institutional racism over a failure to prosecute anyone in relation to her son’s death.
Mountain Ash Comprehensive pupil Christopher Kapessa, 13, who could not swim, died in the River Cynon, near Fernhill, on July 1, 2019.
South Wales Police initially concluded there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death, but the case was later taken on by the force’s major crime investigation team.
The schoolboy’s family told a press conference at Butetown Community Centre yesterday they were told by the CPS that there is sufficient evidence to support prosecuting another young boy for manslaughter, but that it has decided not to proceed.
His mother, Alina Joseph, said the CPS told her in a letter there is evidence another child pushed their son into the river.
She said the CPS told her the suspect is “mature and intelligent for his age” and had a “good school record”, no convictions or cautions, and there was no public interest in prosecuting.
Ms Joseph told the press conference her son’s death had echoes of the culture of institutional racism uncovered in the Stephen Lawrence case.
“Our son was a joy to us and a light to the world and our hearts are heavy with both the pain and sadness of his loss each and every day,” Ms Joseph said. “Critically my family were let down by institutions such as South Wales Police and the Crown Prosecution Service whose ethos is to serve and protect.
“They have failed me and they continue to fail black families as victims, witnesses and suspects across the country. We knew from day one that our son had not fallen into that river.”
Following her son’s death, Ms Joseph and her legal team raised questions over South Wales Police’s handling of the case.
It was subsequently handed to the force’s major investigation team and referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The IOPC enquiry is still ongoing.
Ms Joseph said she received a letter from the CPS on February 19, eight months after her son’s death, informing her there was “sufficient evidence to support a charge of unlawful act of manslaughter”.
But the family said the CPS told them they would not be proceeding with prosecution as the case did not meet requirements in the public interest.
“We now know that at the time of Christopher’s death there was sufficient evidence that the initial conclusion arrived [at] by the police, a conclusion they had reached within literally hours of Christopher’s death, was fundamentally flawed.”
Christopher’s family said only four out of the 14 young people who they believe witnessed his death were initially interviewed by police.
Ms Joseph said she believed South Wales Police to be an “instituitionally racist organisation” and she hoped the IOPC investigation would closely examine “inconsistencies and flaws” in their investigation.
“If it was a white child who had drowned while surrounded by 14 black youths I am sure the approach of both the police and CPS would be different,” she said.
The family’s lawyer, Hilary Brown, said their legal team would be seeking a review of the decision taken by the CPS.
Human rights barrister Michael Mansfield QC has also been instructed to represent the family.
Hilary Brown said: “The decision of the CPS is disappointing in light of the fact that they confirmed that the evidential threshold was met for bringing a charge of manslaughter against a young man.
“Christopher’s family and their legal team are now vindicated for insisting that South Wales Police undertake a new and thorough investigation to establish the facts of how Christopher died and the truth is now out.”
Shavanah Taj, General Secretary of South Wales TUC, said: “As a Welsh trade unionist and parent to black children I cannot stand by whilst the CPS and South Wales police refuse to act and rightfully serve justice to Christopher Kapessa’s family, who lost their young teenage son in a tragic incident in South Wales last year.
“Twenty years on since the death of Stephen Lawrence we continue to witness real failings of the very systems that are designed to protect and serve justice indiscriminately.”