Edgware man cleared of South Harrow station murder

Hussein Ahmed, 19, was fatally stabbed and two other people were injured in Harrow on November 18, 2016.

In 2017, Philippe Sossongo, now 20, from Edgware, was found guilty of his murder, alongside Vanquer Muanza, from Barnet, also now 20.

Sossongo’s case was later sent by the Court of Appeal for retrial at the Old Bailey, where he was cleared by a jury on Tuesday.

South Harrow station

The court heard that Mr Ahmed was fatally stabbed once in the back in an unprovoked attack near South Harrow Underground station.

Moments earlier, two other young men near the scene were injured, jurors had heard.

The court heard the attack involved a group of four youths associated with an estate in Hendon, some seven miles away.

Prosecutor Anthony Orchard QC said: “They were on a ‘ride out’, intent on attacking any youth local to Harrow who they perceived as a possible local gang member.

“Their attack was founded on the need for revenge. Once the taxi had arrived in South Harrow, the driver was told to wait. All four youths had got out.”

Hussein Ahmed. Credit: Met Police

The prosecution alleged that Sossongo acted as a “lookout” and had “minded” the taxi to ensure the group’s escape while the other three went off.

The prosecutor outlined a series of violent incidents leading up to the revenge attack in Harrow.

On August 30, 2016, Ahmed Cabdulgadir was stabbed in Harrow outside a McDonald’s restaurant, the jury was told.

Then, two days before the killing, another youth from the defendants’ group was found unconscious with serious head injuries on the estate in Hendon.

An hour and a half after the murder of Mr Ahmed, Muanza was caught on CCTV visiting the youth as he recovered in hospital.

At the conclusion of the original trial, a third defendant, aged 15 at the time of the killing, was acquitted.

A fourth suspect, Ahmed Cabdulgadir, now 22, from Hendon, allegedly fled the country and remains wanted by police.