Racists daub vile graffiti on family’s door – but police do nothing until father tweets
A FATHER and his ten-year-old son are living in fear after the vile message ‘no blacks’ was spraypainted on the front door of their new home.
Trainee solicitor Jackson Yamba shared shocking images of the racist abuse online because police had still failed to investigate more than a week after he reported the crime.
When the 38-year-old, a qualified barrister in his native Democratic Republic of Congo, rang Greater Manchester Police (GMP) he was told there was ‘not enough staff’ to investigate it as a priority.
Police only investigated and apologised after the single father caused a storm when he posted the images on Twitter.
Mr Yamba discovered the graffiti on his door and three communal entrances of the three- storey block in Salford while taking his son to school on February 8. It was just five days after the pair had moved into the flat.
Mr Yamba, who moved to Britain in 2006, took a day off work after calling police because he assumed they would be round to investigate the hate crime.
‘But they didn’t because they said they didn’t have enough staff available – they never came round or saw me,’ he said.
His son David admitted that he had been left scared to live in his new home. ‘I started to cry in case something hap- pened and I don’t want to stay in the house any more,’ he said.
The attack took place just two weeks before the 20th anniversary of the Macpherson Report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, which accused the Metropolitan Police of institutional racism.
The report, which was published on February 24, 1999 – six years after the 18year-old was stabbed to death in London – made 70 recommendations including measures to improve the police’s handling of racist incidents.
Since Mr Yamba tweeted a photo, eight days after the crime was first reported, the post has been shared more than 7,500 times. ‘The police said they didn’t know why I haven’t heard from them,’ he said, but insisted: ‘If I hadn’t tweeted about it, they wouldn’t be interested.’
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins replied to Mr Yamba on Twitter, writing: ‘Jackson, I have only just seen this and can only apologise.
‘That is frankly just not good enough. There may have been other issues at the time, but we should have followed up quickly.’
Mr Yamba said the abuse was the worst type of hate he had witnessed since moving to Britain.
‘In my eyes, this is the most serious hate crime you can come across. It’s on my front door,’ he said. ‘I now have to explain to my son that not everybody here is like this, a lot of people are nice and it’s just a few who are like this.
‘My first worry was that if they’ve done this, they can go further. Do they know where my son goes to school?’
The sickening attack harks back to the 1960s and 1970s when racist slogans were daubed on the homes of ethnic minorities. Mr Yamba said: ‘ Neighbours believe they know who has done it. I think it has to be somebody who lives here, as you need a key fob to get into the building.’
The father and son have received hundreds of messages of support from the local community. Salford Red Devils rugby league club director Ian Blease invited them to a home match as special guests. Chief Inspector David Gilbride, of GMP’s Salford district, said last night: ‘We are sorry to hear that Mr Yamba has received a service below what we would seek to provide.
‘I have visited him in person today in order to ensure that this incident is fully investigated.’
‘I don’t want to stay in the house any more’