Father of murdered teen Malcolm Mide-Madariola expresses his anger at lenient sentence: ‘judge did what she could do by the law’

BY JAMES TWOMEY
james@slpmedia.co.uk

The father of a teenage boy who was stabbed to death said “only God can avenge” his son’s murder.

Malcolm Mide-Madariola, 17, was killed by Tammuz Brown, from Abbey Wood, Greenwich, when he repeatedly knifed Malcolm, who was acting as a “peacemaker” outside Clapham South Tube station in November last year.

Brown was given a 16-year sentence for murder last Friday at the Old Bailey, but Malcolm’s father, Olumide Wole-Madariola, said it was not long enough, and current prison sentences were not enough of a deterrent against knife crime and violence.

“The loss cannot be equal to any time served by Tammuz Brown,” said Olumide. “You can’t see justice in the number of years.

“The judge said ‘the moment you brought a knife to that scene, you made it to be bloody. You intended to make it bloody when Malcolm intervened’.

Olumide added: “You killed a peacemaker. Only God can avenge. I can’t do anything. The judgement can’t take away the pain.

“The judge did what she could according to the rules. She couldn’t do more within the rules of the law.

“Life should be life. There should be a higher number of years to serve as a deterrent. He should be able to pay for what he has done.

“Malcolm was in the prime of his adulthood. He could have been anything. Could have done anything.”

The Malcolm Mide-Madariola World Foundation has been set up by Malcolm’s family in the wake of his death.

The foundation collects clothes and food for disadvantaged families, offers scholarships and mentoring activities for deprived families, and stages career studies and sports sessions in his memory.

Olumide said: “The foundation is a reflection of Malcolm and his record of excellence. His magnanimous, benevolent attitude.

“He had the best results in school and college and we want to live in that. To help the youth avoid these situations and to support victims like us.

“Malcolm was someone to lean on. A loyal person. Very brave. Never in his life did he run away.

“He wrote music, Soul and hip-hop. He loved drumming and had been drumming in the church since he was seven years old. I remember buying them for him.

“I wish everything he wanted, I gave it to him. “I feel so blessed to have had him as a son and the respect the rest of my kids show their parents.”

The student of St Francis Xavier’s College, Clapham, who previously went to Harris Academy Peckham, was stabbed three times, including once in the heart, during the attack on November 2.