Gang ride-out murder of boy ‘glorified’ in drill music video, court told

Bubacar Jabbie Dukureh, 17, who was known as Buba, was walking back to his home when he was attacked by five teenagers.

Bubacar Jabbie Dukureh, 17, known to his family as Bubacar Jabbie, who was fatally stabbed in Walthamstow, London (Metropolitan Police/PA) (PA Archive)

The murder of a boy who was cut down near his front door by a group of youths on a gang ride-out was “glorified” in a video set to drill rap, a court has heard.

Bubacar Jabbie Dukureh, 17, who was known as Buba, was walking back to his home in Walthamstow, east London, when he was attacked by five teenagers on the evening of October 23 2020, the Old Bailey heard.

Buba, who was alone, was stabbed to through the chest and collapsed in his front garden in a pool of blood.

A resident of Westbury Road raised the alarm and police and medics arrived but Buba could not be saved and he was pronounced dead at 9.57pm, jurors were told.

It is the prosecution case that the attacking group were on a ride-out to an area controlled by rival gangs. They carefully prepared for this ride-out in advance

Prosecutor James Dawes KC

Jurors were told a “painstaking” investigation uncovered a vast quantity of CCTV covering the time around the killing.

Prosecutor James Dawes KC said the footage uncovered a hostile group of five youths, two on bicycles and three on foot.

Samuel Bartley, 19, Jamal Dakissaga-Benitez, 19, Alfie Ferguson, 19, and Kaiyan Decordova, 20, were among the group.

They were convicted of murdering Buba following a trial at the Old Bailey earlier this year, the court was told.

A teenager, who was 15 at the time and now aged 17, is alleged to have been the fifth member of the group and is on trial for murder.

He was not part of the earlier trial because he was abroad and only returned to the UK a week before it started, Mr Dawes said.

He told jurors: “There is a word/phrase which you will hear in this case is – a ride-out – it means a gang trip to another gang’s area.

“Such a trip is dangerous, this is part of the attraction, and weapons were carried on this ride-out.”

Mr Dawes said ride-outs could be for retribution, to exact revenge for something or to establish dominance over an area.

He went on: “It is the prosecution case that the attacking group were on a ride-out to an area controlled by rival gangs. They carefully prepared for this ride-out in advance.”

It is the Crown’s case Buba had the appearance for them of a Mali Boy and that was sufficient to get him killed

Prosecutor James Dawes KC

Mr Dawes said attackers were associated with the Higham Hill or Priory Court Boys gang which was in rivalry with neighbouring gangs called Drive Marlowe, and  St James or the Mali Boys.

“It is the Crown’s case Buba had the appearance for them of a Mali Boy and that was sufficient to get him killed,” the prosecutor said.

Jurors were played a video clip set to a drill rap which was found on the phone belonging to the defendant Ferguson and focused on the victim’s address.

Mr Dawes said the video of February last year appeared to be “glorifying” the murder and was intended to be uploaded to the internet.

He told jurors: “The trip was a carefully planned ride-out to invade a rival gang territory to provoke and if necessary, confront rivals.

The defendant, who cannot be identified because of his age, denies murder and the trial continues.