In 2019 13-year-old Christopher Kapessa was pushed to his death into the River Cynon. Since then, nobody has been held responsible for his death. However, last week, the high court ruled that the family will be able to challenge the Crown Prosecution Service for failing to prosecute the teenage suspect. For many, this is the first step in his mother’s long fight for truth and justice.
Cover image: a woman holds a Justice for Christopher Kapessa placard at a recent protest in Cardiff. Image, F Clark
Christopher Kapessa’s family have been campaigning for almost two years, but it was a significant victory for the campaign last week after the high court ruled that the family will have the opportunity to argue the case in court – and challenge the Crown Prosecution Service for failing to charge the boy who allegedly pushed Christopher to his death in July 2019.
Christopher’s mother, Alina Joseph, said previously that she “does not want revenge, but for the facts of her son’s case to be heard in court.”
A judicial review allows people who have been affected by a decision – or failure to act – by a public authority, to apply to the courts so that the actions can be ruled lawful or not.
Dorothea Jones, one of the family members, said that the judgement “opened the door to the family’s quest for Justice.”
“The High Court judge has recognised that it was both wrong and unreasonable for the CPS not to consider [the] value [of] Christopher’s human life…We have gained one more step towards justice”.
The decision was welcomed by supporters, including Wales TUC Cymru, who tweeted that “the criminal justice system has let Christopher and his family down”, adding that it is “shameful” that Christopher’s mother had been “forced to fight the system for nearly two years to get to this point.”
The Trades Union Congress Cymru said they would continue to support the family and campaign until “justice is served.”
The judge allowed the application for review of Christopher’s death on five grounds. These included that the CPS gave “undue and improper weight” to the impact the prosecution would have on the teenage suspect, thus undermining Christopher’s death and failing to “properly value human life.”
The suspect was 14-years-old at the time, and, according to the CPS, it was not “in the public interest” to prosecute the teenager, with the act dismissed as a “foolish prank”.
Michael Mansfield QC, who is representing Christopher’s family, told the court sympathy for the teenage suspect “does not come into” the decision whether to prosecute, adding: “Yes, it is a young person, but as was the person who died.”
Mr Mansfield also alleged that some of the young people present at the scene when Christopher died had not been honest with the police.
The judicial review is the outcome of constant appeals from Christopher’s family. From the start, the family have argued that key evidence was dismissed, the crime scene not secured and eyewitnesses not even spoken to at the scene of Christopher’s death.
As a result of this complaint, a new police investigation was launched last year, but on 16 February 2020, the CPS decided that they would not press charges despite there being sufficient evidence for a manslaughter charge.
Legal representatives of Alina Joseph challenged the outcome by submitting a victims’ right of review, but once again, in July 2020, the CPS upheld its original decision not to prosecute.
Now that a judicial review has been granted, the CPS will have 21 days to prepare evidence for the review, including the evidence that was used to come to the decision not to prosecute.
What happened to Christopher Kapessa?
On the 1st July 2019, 13-year old Christopher Kapessa – described by family and friends as loving, cheeky and intelligent – set out to play football with friends in Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf.
But Christopher Kapessa did not return home that summer’s day in 2019.
Christopher – who couldn’t swim – drowned in the River Cynon, and, despite police finding evidence that he was pushed, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to prosecute the 14-year-old who was allegedly responsible, stating that it was “not in the public interest.”
A letter from the CPS explained the decision not to prosecute had considered the best interest of the suspect and the adverse impact the prosecution would have on his future.
At the time of his death, Christopher Kapessa was surrounded by 14 – 16 white teenagers, and only 4 of the people present at the scene were interviewed by police. South Wales Police were quick to declare the incident a ‘tragic accident’ despite evidence to the contrary.
Christopher moved to the Cynon Valley with his six siblings and mother, Alina Joseph, in 2012. While Chistopher was popular and had many friends, his single mother Alina said she worried for her children due to the numerous incidents of racism the family had experienced since moving to the area from London.
These included “hate letters” sent to the house, some of the children being “peed on” and Christopher being left in a “pool of blood” after being attacked in a shop. Since his death, the family have continued to face an onslaught of comments on social media suggesting they’re “pulling out the race card.”
Last year, Alina Joseph expressed how the justice system has failed both her family and others:
“They have failed me, and they continue to fail black families as victims, witnesses and suspects across the country,” she said. “I am seeking justice not revenge. I just don’t want another Black child and family to be failed by the system.”
Since Christopher’s death, his family have been faced with the struggle of not only mourning the gaping hole that has been left, but with trying desperately to gather any small shred of justice. If the decision is not overturned, Alina Joseph promises to launch her own legal action.
Christopher’s name and photographs have featured widely at recent Black Lives Matter events and protests in Wales. Speaking to BBC Wales Investigates, Alina Joseph suggested that had Christopher been white, the investigation “would have been very different”.
How does this fit into the bigger picture of institutional racism in Wales?
Since the death of Black man George Floyd at the hand of Minneapolis cops last year, there has been a wave of protests both globally and here in Wales. There have also been several cases in Wales – alongside Christopher’s – that have again brought issues of structural racism to the fore.
Earlier this year, protests were sparked in Cardiff after the death of 24-year-old Black man Mohamud Hassan, who was witnessed covered in blood and bruises after he was released from police custody, and died several hours later. In May, a sixth misconduct notice was served to a South Wales Police custody sergeant who came into contact with Mohamud on the night of his arrest.
Just over a month later, Mouayed Bashir, 29, who was of Sudanese descent, died in hospital after contact with Gwent Police officers, who, according to Moyied’s brother, had restrained him in his bedroom after what police described as a “medical episode.”
These shocking incidents follow the imprisonment of 22-year-old Black woman Siyanda Mngaza, for what she says was self defence in the face of racist abuse and a physical, racially-motivated attack. Dyfed Powys Police admitted in court that they did not investigate the racial motive, yet Siyanda is currently serving a four-and-a-half year prison sentence.
Last year, in an interview with voice.wales, the director of the leading anti-racist charity The Monitoring Group, Suresh Grover, attacked the “despicable” way police have handled the cases of Christopher Kapessa and Siyanda Mngaza.
The Monitoring Group is currently helping the families of Christopher Kapessa and Syanda Mngaza seek justice, and told voice.wales that the investigations were “painted with racism” and show how cops think Black lives are “very cheap.”
In the interview, Grover also mentioned that there are several other cases in Wales that are yet to come to light in the media, simply because the people involved are too afraid to speak out.
While Christopher Kapessa’s family has been backed by the Wales TUC and movements such as Black Lives Matter, they have lacked support from MPs, particularly Welsh ones. Only 4 Welsh MPs recently supported a UK parliamentary motion which declares solidarity with the family of Christopher Kapessa.
In the UK, activists have also been drawing attention to the vast numbers of Black people who have gone missing recently, and the dismal responses from police. Campaigners have argued that such cases have been taken less seriously by police and the media – in contrast to missing white individuals – with relatives of missing Black people feeling “neglected” or “sidelined.”
Speaking to the Independent, a Black Lives Matter spokesperson drew attention to how the disparity between missing Black people and white people is “another example of how Black people are over-policed as citizens, but under-policed as victims.”
In Cardiff tomorrow, a vigil will be held for Dea-John Reid, the Black 14-year-old who was racially abused and stabbed to death in Kingstanding, Birmingham, on 31 May. The vigil will take place on Friday 18th June at 6.30pm at the Aneurin Bevan statue, Queen Street.
You can find out more about Christopher Kapessa’s case and the campaign by following this link, where you can also donate money towards the legal fees and sign the petition.
You can watch the voice.wales mini documentary on the case here
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