Man jailed for nine years after teenager is stabbed to death

A man has been jailed for nine years after stabbing a teenager to death.

Mohammed Al-Shihabi, 26, of Lighthouse View in Greenwich, was found guilty of manslaughter and possession of a bladed article at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday.

The court heard how he fatally stabbed 18-year-old Mazaza Owusu-Mensah, who lived in Greenhithe, Kent, in a brief but deadly altercation in Edington Road, Abbey Wood in March last year.

Al-Shihabi was found not guilty of murder.

He will serve nine years for manslaughter and two for possession of a bladed article – to run concurrently.

He will also be under licence for four years when he is released and he was also sentenced to one year for a separate matter of dangerous driving committed in November 2020.

Police were called shortly after 5.30pm on Saturday, March 6 last year to the scene where they found Mazaza with a stab wound to his chest.

First aid was administered at the scene but he was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 6.10pm.

A number of people were believed to have witnessed the assault but declined to assist officers at the scene.

CCTV examination captured the incident in its entirety. Mazaza, separated from his friends, approached Al-Shihabi and his friends.

A very short conversation ensued, resulting in Al-Shihabi jabbing Mazaza’s chest.

Mazaza had been stabbed. He made his way back towards his friends, perhaps not quite realising the seriousness of his injury.

His friends took him into a residential address where Mazaza collapsed and later died. The whole confrontation had taken just ten seconds.

Al-Shihabi was identified through fast-paced CCTV enquiries.

Specialist detectives located him on Monday, 13 March. He was taken to a north London police station for questioning before being charged with murder in the early hours of March 15.

Five others were arrested in connection with the murder and later released without further action.

No motive has ever been determined.

Mazaza’s mother said: “Mazaza was a much loved member of our family and the wider community.

“It is tremendously hard, indeed difficult to convey into words the devastation his sudden passing away in such a brutal manner has had on all of us.

“Mazaza was full of life, very kind and very caring and full of jokes – a total chatterbox.

“He was incredibly loyal, intelligent and well mannered. Mazaza was the most loving son a mother could want – he told others how much he loved his family, never losing that ability to communicate his affection.

“I always remember him with a blue Fanta and Thai sweet chilli McCoys. He loved his food too – and his music, which he played loudly every morning. I miss him every day.”

Detective Inspector Laura Nelson led the investigation. She said: “Ten seconds was all it took for Al-Shihabi to take a life and ruin that of Mazaza’s family.

“Al-Shihabi’s actions were utterly without justification. He tried to hide afterwards but was quickly arrested.”

Pictured top: Mazaza Owusu-Mensah