A 28-year-old Congolese man, Benjamin Katabana, has been found guilty of murdering a UK-based Nigerian student, Uchenna Okirie, following a fatal stabbing at a shared accommodation in Norwich, England.
This was contained in a statement obtained from the website of Norfolk Police on Thursday, which stated that Katabana was found guilty by a jury at Norwich Crown Court on Wednesday after an 11-day trial.
PUNCH Metro had reported in November 2025 that Katabana was arraigned before Norwich Crown Court for allegedly stabbing Okirie, described as a former postgraduate student at the University of East Anglia, to death at a residential accommodation housing both students and professionals.
Our correspondent had gathered that police were called to Somerleyton House, off Unthank Road, at about 5:22am on November 22, following reports that a man had suffered a suspected stab wound.
According to the police, despite efforts by emergency responders to save him, Okirie was pronounced dead at 6.01am.
A murder investigation was subsequently launched after Okirie, believed to be in his 30s, died from a single stab wound to the chest.
Giving an update in the Thursday statement, Norfolk Police said Katabana had denied murdering Uche but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
The statement noted that investigators said Katabana handed himself in to the police shortly after the attack, reportedly telling officers, “I have killed someone, I think.”
It added that investigations revealed that the incident was captured on the building’s CCTV system.
The police said the footage reportedly showed Okirie using his mobile phone in a communal corridor when Katabana, armed with a knife, launched a sustained attack on him.
The statement read, “Officers reviewed footage of the incident, which was clearly captured on CCTV. It showed the two men coming together in the corridor of the communal building where they both lived.
“In the footage, Mr Okirie appears to be using his mobile phone when Katabana, who can clearly be seen holding a knife, delivers a sustained and brutal attack, ultimately leaving him for dead, face down on the floor.
“Having stabbed him once, he went on to attack him multiple times and kick him in the head — a violent loss of control which his defence said was due to his traumatic upbringing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
However, the statement added that Katabana’s defence team argued that his actions were linked to a traumatic upbringing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and urged the court to consider diminished responsibility.
The statement added that the jury, however, rejected the claim and returned a verdict of murder, adding that a post-mortem examination later established that Okirie died from a stab wound to the chest.
It also noted that the murder weapon used in the attack was never recovered and that Katabana reportedly answered “no comment” to questions regarding his actions during police interviews.
Commenting on the conviction, a senior investigating officer, Alix Wright, described the killing as a deliberate and unprovoked attack.
“This was a violent and unprovoked attack.
“Benjamin Katabana deliberately lured Mr Okirie into the corridor through WhatsApp messages, where he intended to meet him, having already armed himself with a knife.
“Our thoughts remain with Uche’s family, and we hope this conviction provides them with a measure of justice for their loss,” Wright said.
The statement concluded that a sentencing date has yet to be fixed by the court.
Meanwhile, Nigerians living in Norwich, UK, at the time of the incident, launched a fundraising campaign to repatriate the remains of Okirie.
To support the repatriation and burial, the Nigerian community in Norwich created a GoFundMe appeal titled, “Rest in peace, Uche: help us return him to his family.”
Credit: THE PUNCH
