Drill rapper jailed for murdering man whose brother was killed years later

A drill rapper has been jailed for life for fatally stabbing a gang rival whose younger brother was killed four years later.

Lekan Akinsoji and accomplice Sundjata Keita, both aged 27, were found guilty of murder eight years after 21-year-old Ahmed Deen-Jah was killed.

Mr Deen-Jah was chased into an off licence and stabbed near Custom House station in east London on the afternoon of April 2 2017.

Just 10 days before the ride-out killing, Akinsoji rapped on a video entitled Armed And Ready how he intended to avoid getting caught, saying: “No face, no case, no evvy (evidence).”

A year after the murder, Akinsoji was armed with a shotgun and wore a clown mask on another ride-out in a stolen car in Leytonstone, east London.

He was arrested after a police chase and sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent and having a gun.

On Friday, Mr Deen-Jah’s family attended Akinsoji and Keita’s Old Bailey sentencing and described how they were also grieving for his younger brother Junior, who was killed in 2021.

Their father Abubakar Jah said he came to live in the UK from Sierra Leone in 1995 hoping for a better life only for those dreams to be shattered when his older son was murdered.

He said: “Four years after this, having had no justice in Ahmed’s case, my younger son Junior was also murdered in April 2021, again this was in close proximity to where Ahmed was murdered.”

He said his older son had just “popped to the shop” when he was chased killed in the “most brutal way”.

Two defendants were guilty over Junior’s killing but at the time Mr Jah said he was not sure if he would get justice for his other son.

Mr Jah added: “Losing both of my sons has caused the most unbearable hurt and pain to me and my family. It is unexplainable.”

Mother Hawa Deen Conteh said the family had been altered forever by the “senseless act of violence” that led to Mr Deen-Jah’s death.

Having sat through two murder trials, she said the grief was “indescribable”.

She said: “In seeking justice, we pray the court recognises the depth of our loss and the enduring and devastating impact this tragedy has had on our family.

“We hope no other family has to experience the heartache and suffering that we have endured.”

Judge Anthony Leonard KC jailed the defendants for life with a minimum term of 28 years for Akinsoji and 22 years for Keita.

Judge Leonard commended the victim’s family who had sat through two murder trials “in dignified silence”.

He said: “Losing both sons has caused the most unbearable hurt and pain to him and his family. Mr Jah fully realises that no punishment which the court can administer will ever make up for the irreparable damage to his family.”

Previously, the court had heard how the defendants had donned black clothes, balaclavas and gloves for the gang ride-out attack, got out of a stolen black Mercedes car and chased the victim who ran into BJ Wines.

During a desperate struggle, Mr Deen-Jah was stabbed in the heart by Akinsoji who ran off with Keita.

An ambulance was called and at 3.49pm, Mr Deen-Jah, who was known by the street name Grinna, was pronounced dead at the scene some 130 metres from his home.

Prosecutor Anthony Orchard KC had told jurors: “This killing was not a spontaneous act of violence, but an attack planned against a background of street violence between two east London gangs.

“Those in the black Mercedes had been on a ‘ride-out’ – driving to an opposing gang’s area looking for rival gang members, or perceived members, to attack.”

Mr Deen-Jah was a member of the Custom House gang and Akinsoji admitted being a member of the Woodgrange gang, although Keita denied association.

Giving evidence in his trial, Akinsoji, from Forest Gate, east London, also known as “CB” or “Cracky Blacks”, denied being involved in the violence.

Jurors were told Akinsoji regularly glorified ride-out violence and promoted the Woodgrange Gang on Twitter via his handle @stillwoody_cb.

Keita, also from Forest Gate, who was known as SK, had declined to give evidence in the Old Bailey trial.

Detective Superintendent Kelly Allen, who led on the investigation, said: “I hope the long sentences provide some measure of closure to Ahmed’s family, who have waited almost a decade for justice.

“Akinsoji and Keita launched a cold-blooded and unprovoked attack. Worse still, they then sought to evade the law – and were able to do so until 2023, when damning forensic evidence came to light.”