Man who carried out random attacks in Brixton is jailed for life

A man who attacked people with makeshift blades on the streets of south London, killing one woman has been sentenced

34 year old Mohamed Nur, who has been described as 'extremely dangerous' has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 32 years for the murder of Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey.

The 31 year old was stabbed her three times in the neck as she walked home in south London last May 1.

Two days earlier, Nur had slashed the faces of two women and a man in what the Old Bailey heard were "unprovoked and random" attacks.

The 34 year old had admitted murder and having a homemade blade on May 1 and was found guilty of three charges of unlawful wounding.

On Thursday, Nur failed to attend court and was sentenced in his absence to life with a minimum term of 32 years.

Judge Angela Rafferty KC said the murder was "random, vicious, horrific" and "without mercy".

Finding he was "extremely dangerous", the judge said that if he had not been arrested, Nur would have struck again.

During the hearing, Ms Dogbey's younger sister Laura outlined the impact of losing her "innocent, loving, selfless" sister.

She told the court: "To say it was the worst day of my life would be too simple. To say it broke me would be an understatement.

"It hurts to think no-one was able to protect her from the actions of this man who snuck up behind her and took her life."

She condemned the "selfish" and "premeditated" killing, saying her sister would "never hurt a fly".

Nur, who came to the UK from Somalia in 1993, became addicted to drugs and was homeless from December 2022, the court heard.

At the time of the attacks, he was living in accommodation for vulnerable adults in Vauxhall, south London, and had previous convictions possession of cannabis, a firearm, ammunition and blades.

Nur was wearing a distinctive jacket and a top with a black hood pulled down over his face - the same outfit he had on when he killed Ms Dogbey.

Prosecutor Julian Evans KC said that at about 4pm last May 1, Ms Dogbey had been walking alone in Stockwell Park Walk carrying a shopping bag and a mobile phone.

She was returning home after a trip to Oxford Street in central London to buy her mother a birthday present.

She was on the phone to her grandmother when she was attacked from behind by Nur.

In a statement read out to the court, Johanita’s father said:

“Johanita passing, so violently, has left a big hole in our lives and a massive hole in our hearts. It wasn’t her time to go.

“There are parts of your heart you could never imagine could feel so much pain unless you go through the loss we have gone through. It is not possible to fully explain how much this has impacted our family and all of us individually. Though we will remember her as the beautiful, caring, funny and bubbly daughter, sister and friend she was, her murder and death will always be one of the hardest realities we will have to live with. We are the ones with the life sentence now.”

Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Webb, the senior investigating officer who led the investigation into Nur, said:

“Mohammed Nur has been jailed for four violent offences, carried out at random in terrifying circumstances. I realise nothing can alleviate the pain and suffering that Johanita’s family continue to endure, but I hope they – and the three other people Nur attacked and injured – can take some comfort from the fact he has been convicted and will spend a lengthy period of time in prison.

“Following these incidents, extra officers were drafted into the Brixton area to provide reassurance to the local community and support the investigation. It was as a result of a stop and search carried out by one of these teams that Nur was arrested. He was found in possession of a makeshift weapon and it can only be presumed he was intent on carrying out further violence.

“The proactive work of these officers stopped Nur in his tracks and he has now been held to account for his actions.”

Earlier, Judge Rafferty indicated possible consequences for Nur's failure to attend court, saying: "We cannot have defendants in cases such as this not turning up to court."

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