Kelyan Bokassa’s Killers Plead Guilty in Old Bailey Shock

An investigation was launched following an incident on Tuesday 7 January 2024, when emergency services were called at approximately 14:28hrs to reports of a stabbing on the upper deck of a Route 472 bus travelling through Woolwich Church Street, SE18, close to its junction with the South Circular. London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance attended the scene alongside uniformed officers from the Metropolitan Police. Paramedics treated Kelyan at the scene but he was pronounced dead shortly after their arrival.

Detectives from the Met’s Homicide Command within Specialist Crime quickly took carriage of the investigation. CCTV from the bus and nearby transport infrastructure was reviewed, showing two suspects boarding the vehicle and ascending to the upper deck before launching a sustained and premeditated attack on the victim. Both suspects appeared to be armed with long-bladed weapons described by police sources as machetes.

The CCTV footage revealed that the suspects boarded the bus with intent and purpose. After locating their target seated on the upper rear bench, they immediately drew their weapons and inflicted multiple stab wounds. In total, the victim was either stabbed or targeted with a stabbing motion no fewer than 27 times. The suspects then rapidly disembarked the bus and fled the scene on foot.

Fellow bus passengers attempted to save Kelyan’s life on board the double decker bus, moving him to a seat on the lower deck while the driver called 999 and they attempted to stop the bleeding. However a coroner’s court heard the 14-year-old died from one of his wounds to his right thigh.

Following the release of this footage, Scotland Yard took the unusual decision to publicly name two suspects being actively sought in connection with the killing. On Wednesday 10 January, officers from the Metropolitan Police Service issued an urgent appeal identifying the individuals as Elijah Badio, DOB 18-06-2007 aged 16, and Amir Rana, DOB 09-09-2007 also 16. CCTV stills, full names, and ages of the two boys were disseminated to media outlets as part of the active manhunt.

The public appeal was widely circulated by both traditional and online news platforms, accompanied by official statements confirming that both individuals were wanted by detectives on suspicion of murder and should not be approached.

Members of the public were urged to contact police immediately with any information regarding their whereabouts. The release of images and identification details was sanctioned at senior level due to the seriousness of the offence and the perceived ongoing risk to the public.

On Wednesday 15 January, following sustained efforts by Met officers across multiple boroughs, two teenage males were arrested. The arrests were made during separate targeted operations carried out in coordination with armed response teams. The individuals taken into custody were both 16 years of age.

The following day, on Thursday 16 January, both teenagers were formally charged with murder and possession of offensive weapons. Due to legal constraints and the youth of the individuals, no further identifying information was released by authorities at that stage.

The procedural chronology that followed was consistent with cases of this magnitude involving juvenile defendants. The pair first appeared at the Magistrates’ Court on Friday 17 January, where jurisdiction was immediately transferred to the Crown Court. The matter was then formally sent to the Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey.

Pre-trial hearings took place across several sittings between February and May. A trial date had been listed for late June. However, that timetable was altered when developments in the plea position of the defendants emerged. Legal teams representing both teenagers engaged in plea negotiations with the Crown Prosecution Service, which resulted in a Guilty plea from one of the defendents.

However, on Friday, 23 May 2025, during the opening stages of the actual trial at the Old Bailey took an unexpected turn both two of thr defendents entered guilty pleas.

The first defendant as mentioned above had already given his intention to plead guilty prior to the hearing. However, the second defendant's plea came as a surprise to the court. When asked to enter his plea, he responded with "Guilty," prompting audible gasps from the public gallery which included members of his family, including his mother Mary Bokassa. His barrister, Charles Langley KC, requested a brief adjournment to confer with his client. Upon resumption, the defendant confirmed his guilty plea.

Both defendants also admitted to possessing knives on the day of the incident. Judge Mark Lucraft KC, the Recorder of London, addressed the defendants, stating,

"The two of you have pleaded guilty to murder; as you will know, the sentence is set by law as life imprisonment. In each of your cases, I have ordered a pre-sentence report. It is important I have as much information about the two of you as possible."

The court heard that the attack was premeditated. Prosecutor Tom Little KC described how the defendants boarded the Route 472 bus on Woolwich Church Street, armed with "lengthy machetes." They proceeded to the upper deck, where they located Kelyan and launched a swift and brutal assault. "On viewing the CCTV" Little stated:

"The two defendants must have known the victim."

The attack involved 27 stabbing actions, some of which made contact with the victim's body. Following the assault, one of the defendants discarded a machete into the River Thames. It was further noted for the court that, both boys had past convictions for knife possession, and one was additionally serving a youth court referral order at the time of the fatal stabbing.

The victim Kelyan Bokassa, was just 14 years old at the time of his death, was a boy marked by vulnerability, complexity and contradiction. Though tragically young, his life had already been shaped by a series of difficult and often dangerous circumstances—experiences which, the court has heard, placed him at acute risk long before the events of April.

Members of his family, including his mother Mary Bokassa, were in court to hear the guilty pleas, and there were audible gasps and tears when the killers admitted murder.

Born into a life of instability, Kelyan spent periods in the care system and was, for some time, reported missing. Upon his return to his family home, his mother, Marie Bokassa, described him as underweight, tattooed, hungry, and exposed to drugs. Speaking with restrained candour, she told reporters:

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

Despite these warnings, Kelyan remained, as his mother described him, “very kind and caring,” with a passion for football, art, and cooking. He was a keen Arsenal supporter and a devoted friend to those closest to him. But the court also heard that he had recently become embedded in the margins of gang-influenced youth culture in southeast London—specifically within the vicinity of Woolwich and surrounding boroughs—where violence, postcode rivalries, and the possession of weapons are increasingly common.

It was against this backdrop that Kelyan found himself before the courts in the weeks prior to his own killing. At the time of his death, he was due to face charges at Bromley Youth Court for possession of a machete. The charge related to an incident earlier that year in which he was stopped by police in possession of the bladed weapon.

The pending case had yet to be concluded, and no plea had been entered at the time of his death. The detail was not explored in depth during Friday’s hearing at the Old Bailey, but was noted by the prosecution in their references to his background and personal circumstances.

Kelyan was also known by the rap alias “Grippa” and had been active online in the drill music scene, releasing content via social media platforms that reflected both the stylised bravado and tragic fatalism often associated with youth caught up in gang rivalries.

In November last year, he released a tribute video mourning the death of his close friend Daejaun Campbell, who himself had been stabbed to death in a separate and unrelated attack. That loss, his mother has said, deeply affected him, contributing to his further withdrawal from structured life and education.

He had been attending Newhaven School, a pupil referral unit in Eltham. Staff there described him as someone making clear efforts to re-engage with education. The headteacher, Jon Kelly, stated that while Kelyan had faced significant difficulties, he was showing ambition and responding positively to the tailored support provided to him.

Marie Bokassa said that while her son had lost his way, he was still a child—still trying to find stability, belonging, and meaning.

“He was a child who was literally lost,”

She said. Her words echoed the broader tragedy of the case: not simply a boy who was murdered, but a boy who had himself become ensnared in the very cycle of criminality and violence that would ultimately cost him his life.

In court, no defence advocate or prosecution barrister attempted to downplay the reality of Kelyan’s involvement in risky and unlawful behaviour. However, it was repeatedly stressed that none of this excused or diminished the gravity of what had been done to him.He was 14. A child. And despite the allegations he faced, the fact remained that he never had the chance to answer for them in court or to step away from the path he had found himself on.

Sentencing for the two boys convicted of his murder is due to take place at the Central Criminal Court on Friday, 19th July. Both teenagers will also remain in custody. Additionally at the conclusion of Friday’s hearing, Judge Lucraft further noted to the court the he will be considering, whether the teen murders should now be publicly identified once again after they have been sentenced despite being under 18, and is expected to consider public interest in the case as well as the deterrent effect of full reporting of their crimes.

His comments followed the Metropolitan Police’s unusual decision to name the two teenagers when they were being actively sought, a factor the court will take into account.

Well, that’s all for now. But until our next article, please stay tuned, stay informed, but most of all stay safe, and I’ll see you then.