Model Harry Uzoka’s Killers Found Guilty of First Degree Murder2 min read

George Koh (24) a Liberian National from Camden and Mersa Dikanda (24), a Congolese national of no fixed address were found guilty of Harry Uzoka’s murder on Monday 13^th of August at the Old Bailey.

Jonathan Okigbo, who is also from Camden, was found guilty of manslaughter.

Koh and Okigbo were charged on the 16^th January, whilst Dikanda was charged on the January 26^th.

The murder occurred after a series of social media altercations between Koh and Uzoka which escalated into a fatal attack on January 11^th.

Harry Uzoka (25), was regarded by many as the leading black male model in the UK, was well-liked by his colleagues and had recently landed a film role.

He had cultivated a reputation as a laid back person who was happy to help other people get into the industry, the jury heard.

Koh, who is also a male model, but was not as successful as Uzoka, had made a variety of attempts to make contact with Uzoka’s friends and emulate him.

These attempts included a Paris-based model Annecetta Lafon, who was a mutual friend of both Koh and Uzoka.

In late December 2017, she discovered that Koh had “an obsession” with Harry, which she relayed to him on the 9^th January 2018 when they met.

This lead to a heated phone exchange and further confrontation through direct messaging on Instagram in which Uzoka told Koh:

“Leave my name out of your mouth. I’ve never spoken bad of you in any way so this is wild”.

He also referred to Koh as “a lost soul”.

The pair then arranged a meeting at Ollgar Close in Camden, near Uzoka’s home, where Uzoka said he was going to “fix him”.

Koh arrived with Dikanda and Okigbo, who he had known through school when he was younger, believing that them being “street” would be of assistance when fighting Uzoka.

Koh was in possession of two knives whilst Dikanda was armed with a machete.

Uzoka arrived with his flatmate, Adrian Harper; both men were armed with Dumbbells.

Upon seeing Koh’s weapons, Harper, alarmed, fled the scene whilst Koh, Dikanda and Okigbo surrounded Uzoka who was stabbed by Koh three times, with one of the wounds penetrating his chest.

A post-mortem held on January 12^th found that the cause of death was a stab wound to the heart.

Investigating officer, Detective inspector Simon Pickford of the Homicide and Major Crime Command said:

“It was clear that Harry was a role model to many young black men and was an inspiration, but his life was taken in a senseless attack.”

Uzoka’s family, in a statement, said: “Harry was such a loving, positive and caring influence. We still find it difficult to believe he is actually gone.”

All three men have been remanded in custody and will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on September 21^st.