Teenagers sentenced to 13 years for killing in Southwark of Rotherhithe 18-year-old Francois Kablan

Two teenagers have been jailed after killing a man in a confrontation which turned into a fatal fight in Southwark last year.

Mohamed Kolokoh, 18, of Elephant and Castle, was on Wednesday, 31 March at Isleworth Crown Court sentenced to 13 years imprisonment, to serve eight in custody and five on license, for the manslaughter of Francois Kablan.

A 16-year-old from Lambeth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also sentenced to 13 years in custody for manslaughter, with the same conditions as his co-defendant.

This follows a guilty verdict on Wednesday, 3 February at Isleworth Crown Court.

Francois, who lived in Rotherhithe, was fatally stabbed on Wednesday 13 May, 2020 in Dover Street, Southwark.

Police were called at around 5.30pm to reports of a number of males fighting near the location.

Paramedics and London’s Air Ambulance attended but Francois was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post mortem held two days later gave cause of death as a stab wound to the chest.

The two defendants were arrested near to the scene.

The court heard how Francois and his friend became involved in an altercation with the two defendants which quickly escalated.

Detective Chief Inspector Kate Kieran said: “My thoughts go out today to the family and friends of Francois, whose life was needlessly lost, far too soon. Whatever instigated this dispute between the two groups quickly led to a situation in which the two defendants – who were both armed with knives – were not prepared to back down.

Rather they decided to engage, leading to the most tragic of outcomes. It is clear to me that their intention was to cause at least serious harm to Francois, proving them to be dangerous offenders who have no place on our streets.

“The result today reflects the seriousness of knife crime and the impact that this has on the victims, their families and their communities. I hope that today’s verdict can offer them some of the closure that they deserve whilst removing two dangerous criminals from the streets of London.

“Tackling violent crime in communities across London is the Met’s top priority. We are working incredibly hard to take weapons off the street, engage and reassure the public, and keep our communities safe.”

If there are any young people who have information about violence or knife crime, they can visit fearless.org where they can pass on information anonymously. Fearless is part of the Crimestoppers charity, and is also independent of the police. If you need help or information to support someone you suspect is involved in knife crime, or you want assistance yourself, then you can visit www.knifefree.co.uk or LondonNeedsYouAlive

+ Three other individuals arrested in connection with the incident were later released with no further action.