Tributes to 'loving' father who died in best friend's arms after stabbing in Peckham

Pic:Bilal Karbo worked in a phone shop near where he was stabbed
Crime reporter(wp/es):

Friends have paid tribute to a “loving” father who died in his best friend’s arms after being stabbed on a busy shopping street.

Bilal Kargbo, 26, was knifed during an argument with a stranger in Blenheim Grove, Peckham Rye, on Friday afternoon.

Despite efforts of paramedics he was pronounced dead at the scene just before 4pm, becoming the sixth stabbing fatality in a week of carnage on the capital’s streets.

Childhood friends today paid tribute to the father-of-four, who was killed less than 250 yards from the mobile phone shop where he worked on Rye Lane.

Alim Komora said he had seen Mr Kargbo, who lived in Borough, arguing with another man and immediately rushed over to separate them.

He said: “I saw him from the back and I came straight up to them and tried to separate them. They were so close and they were squaring up to each other.

“I was pushing them both in the chest and I said ‘you guys are not fighting’.”

“Next thing I know the guy took out a knife and just stabbed him. It happened so quickly I didn’t even have time to ask why they were arguing.”

Mr Komora said he had met Bilal, originally from Sierra Leone, when they were both students at Walworth School, now Walworth Academy, on Old Kent Road.

Speaking from the West African country, musician Mohamed Sheriff said that Mr Kargbo had been due to travel to the capital Freetown on May 7, to launch the pair’s record label No Dulling Entertainment.

He said: “We were trying to change the entertainment industry in Sierra Leone. We had a dream, we worked hard together.

“He was a free-spirit, a hard-working person who believed in his dreams and wanted to achieve his dreams. He wasn’t the type of person to take a shortcut in anything, he was willing to work hard day and night.

“He was a star without being a star – anything he touched turned to gold. He was always trying to help people.”

Mr Sheriff, who described Bilal as “more than a brother”, said his friend moved to London as a teenager.

He added: “I’ve heard of people getting stabbed, but I’ve never of six people in six days dying. You think of that for America, but not London.

“That’s not his life. He prays every single Friday. There are so many people behind him, he has kids that he left behind. It’s really sad.”

The musician said he was organising a tribute concert for Mr Kargbo in Freetown to be held on May 20.

Friend Marsden Kanu, 21, said Mr Kargbo was planning on moving back permanently to Sierra Leone and described as a “proud ambassador” for the country.

He told the Weastar Times: “Bilal was not only a kind loving gentleman but also a responsible family man, a dad of four children who never posed a threat to friends.

“He was a proud ambassador of Sierra Leone and was looking forward to settling in Africa and to contribute actively to the community of the country.”

Friends gathered at the scene of the stabbing last night where flowers had been laid in tribute to Mr Kargbo, who was killed the day after Sierra Leone’s independence day.

Detective Dave Whellams from the Met’s homicide squad said: “We believe the victim was involved in an altercation with another person prior to being stabbed. The incident drew a large crowd of onlookers and a number of members of the public were filming the incident on their phones.

“I am appealing directly to any witnesses - and in particular any of those people who have recorded footage - to contact police as soon as possible.”

A 22-year-old man was being questioned at an east London police station today on suspicion of murder. A 28-year-old man has also been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Anyone with information is asked to call the incident room on 020 8785 8244 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.