Drill rapper whose father's death sparked London riots is jailed for gun crime

A drill rapper whose father’s death sparked riots across the country in 2011 has been jailed for having a gun.

Mark Duggan’s 23-year-old son Kemani Duggan was sentenced to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to possessing a Tokarev pistol and 22 bulleted cartridges with intent to cause fear of violence.

His associate Abdou Bojang, 22, from Hackney, east London, was jailed for the same term after pleading guilty to possession of a prohibited firearm and ammunition without a firearm certification.

Duggan, who is known as Bandokay, was just 10 when his 29-year-old father Mark was shot dead by police in Tottenham 13 years ago.

The Old Bailey heard the two defendants were charged after police raided Bojang’s parent’s flat in Hackney on 21 March last year.

The firearm and ammunition were discovered in a communal underground car park on a concrete ledge inside a JD Sports bag which also contained two foot-long knives.

Duggan’s DNA was found on the gun slide and he was arrested at Gatwick Airport on 13 January. A Snapchat photo of the same gun was also discovered on his phone.

Just before the weapon was found, Bojang messaged Duggan: “Yooo bro, where yu, There’s feds in my block akh. I might be getting nicked.”

Prosecutor Diana Wilson said Duggan was a well-known drill rapper linked with the Old Farm Boys (OFB) criminal gang based on the Broadwater Farm Estate in Tottenham, north London.

She said: “The prosecution expert has concluded that there is no question that over the years he is an elder or senior gang member in the OFB.

“One consequence of this is that he would naturally be at a heightened risk of violence from rival gang members, this would be additionally heightened by his status as a successful drill artist and the son of Mark Duggan which raises his profile to would-be attackers.”

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Ms Wilson added: “As a result of his fame, he has become a target for violence from others associated with urban street gangs.”

Ms Wilson said that Duggan’s plea was made on the basis that he was given the firearm and ammunition to protect himself.

The musician claimed he would only have carried the gun to “scare any prospective aggressor away”.

Mark Duggan’s shooting by an officer, only known as V53, in August 2011 went on to spark riots in London and other English cities for almost a week.

His family, led by Mr Duggan’s mother Pamela, were outraged at the 2014 inquest verdict that he was “lawfully killed”.

Mitigating, Gregory Fishwick said Kemani Duggan expressed the long-term effects of losing his father in his lyrics.

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Sentencing, Judge Philip Katz KC said: “It is accepted that there were grounds for a fear that people might try to attack you, Duggan.

“You have a high profile, arising not only from your own career as an artist in the genre of drill rap, with all its gang associations, but also from your unfortunate life history.”

The duo waved to supporters in the public gallery as they were led away from the dock.

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