On 21 June 2016, Matthew Kitandwe, an 18-year-old British-Ugandan, was murdered outside his home in Wayford Street,

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Kitandwe, described as a "promising young footballer", was stabbed to death as he returned from college. The murder currently remains unsolved and a reward of £10,000 is offered by the independent charity,

Crimestoppers Crime Stoppers or Crimestoppers is a community program that helps people to provide anonymous information about criminal activity. Often managed by non-profit groups or the police, it operates separately from the emergency telephone number sy ...

, for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible.

Background

Kitandwe, who lived in the

area of

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

, had played for the Uganda national under-17 football team, including at the 2015 Africa Youth Qualifiers. He had also recently been signed to play for

Colliers Wood United F.C. Colliers Wood United Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in West Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton. The club is affiliated to the Surrey County Football Association. The club are currently members of the a ...

He was studying at South Thames College at the time of his murder and attended the

Sacred Heart Church, Battersea The Sacred Heart Church is a Roman Catholic church and parish in Trott Street, Battersea, South West London, that serves the Catholic community of Battersea and surrounding areas dabcurs theors doesa thecostcjdd akbts.sles is vts History Th ...

where he was previously an altar boy. Kitandwe's mother had moved to London after her other son was killed in a car accident in Uganda.

Murder and investigation

Kitandwe was reportedly attacked as he was putting his key in the front door of his flat just before 4.15pm. The

London Ambulance Service The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) is an NHS trust responsible for operating ambulances and answering and responding to urgent and emergency medical situations within the London region of England. The service responds to 999 phone cal ...

paramedics fought to save his life before he died in the arms of his mother. Several people were initially arrested in connection with the murder but they were later released with no further action. A year on from Kitandwe's murder police are yet to uncover a motive and have found no evidence Kitandwe was linked to gangs or criminal behaviour. Detective Chief Inspector Sam Price told the ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' that "This appears to have been a senseless attack on a young man and Matthew's family has been left devastated". Police stated they wanted to trace an unknown group of black men seen at around 11am on the day of the murder in a silver car in Wayford Street.

Reaction

The murder attracted media attention in Uganda. Tributes were paid to Kitandwe from local figures including priests and coaches. His cousin, Wilber Kabugo, said: "I just want to give my humble request to teens...to stop this madness because if you take someone's life it's not reversed." A vigil was held for Kitandwe in

Busega Busega is a neighborhood within Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. Location Busega is in Lubaga Division, one of the five administrative divisions of Uganda's capital city. Busega is bordered by unincorporated Wakiso District to the no ...

, a neighbourhood of the Ugandan capital of

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

. He was buried at his family burial grounds in Nabbingo in Uganda.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitandwe, Matthew 2016 murders in the United Kingdom 2016 in London Deaths by person in London Murder in London Unsolved murders in London