The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has recently published a report into the death of a Zimbabwean man in September 2008 who had been released from Colnbrook immigration removal centre (IRC) a few weeks before his death. The unnamed 32-year-old Zimbabwean man came to the UK in 2002 on a visitors visa which he overstayed.
Theme: Housing
Godfrey Moyo – prisoner or patient?
On 6 July 2009, an inquest jury recorded a highly critical verdict of neglect in the death of Godfrey Moyo in HMP Belmarsh. Twenty-five-year-old Godfrey Moyo, a Zimbabwean, died while on remand at the Category A Belmarsh prison on 3 January 2005 in the early hours of the morning after suffering an epileptic fit. Godfrey’s
The ordeal of Kessie Moyo
The refusal of a visa to attend the inquest of her son’s death added to the grief and distress of a bereaved mother. On 3 January 2005, Godfrey Moyo, a 25-year-old Zimbabwean who suffered from epilepsy, died at Belmarsh prison after being restrained face down outside his cell by prison officers. The inquest into his
Fifty years on – remembering Kelso Cochrane
Last weekend, a series of events were held in west London to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the racially motivated murder of Kelso Cochrane. Kelso, a 32-year-old immigrant from Antigua, was murdered on 17 May 1959 in Notting Hill by a gang of White men as he walked home from a local hospital after receiving
Remembering Kelso Cochrane
Next weekend, a series of events will take place in west London to remember Kelso Cochrane, one of the first recorded victims of racially motivated murder in the UK. Fifty years ago on 17 May 1959, Kelso Cochrane, an immigrant from Antigua, was murdered in Notting Hill by a gang of White men as he
Excluded pupils’ group on brink of collapse
A vital community group working with excluded BME children faces closure because of funding shortfalls. The Communities Empowerment Network (CEN) was established in 1999 in response to the growing demand from BME parents and children for help, support and advice concerning school exclusions and reintegration. Since then it has established a small but effective caseworking
Man injured during police chase still lies in hospital
A Romanian man is still in a coma in a south London hospital, three months after collapsing and falling ill during a police chase. According to reports in a local South London newspaper (News Shopper 29.10.08), a 24-year-old Romanian man was in a critical condition in Queen Elizabeth hospital, Woolwich. The man had allegedly been
Two families unite for justice
Last week two grieving families gathered outside Brixton police station to extend solidarity to one another. A weekly vigil outside Brixton police station for Sean Rigg, who died in police custody on 21 August 2008 after being arrested by local police (read an IRR News story: Two suspicious Black deaths in south London), was also
Call for end to deportations to Iraq
A protest calling for an end to the continuing policy of deportations to Iraq was held outside the Home Office on 11 September 2008. Organised by the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees and the Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq, it not only called for an end to the policy of deportations to Iraq, but
Man dies following raid by police and immigration
An investigation is underway as to how a man died following a raid by police and immigration officers at his home in Woodford Green, Essex. 36-year-old Frank Odame was found with head injuries below a block of flats after ‘police officers and UK immigration officials attended a residential address in Lambourne Court, Woodford Green’. A