Tuesday, August 11, 2026 - A Congolese man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murd£r of his Nigerian roommate in Norwich, United Kingdom.
Benjamin Katabana, 28, appeared at Norwich Crown Court on
Friday, August 7, after a jury found him guilty of murd£r in June following an
11-day trial. He was ordered to serve a minimum of 20 years in
prison before becoming eligible for release.
The court heard that Katabana fatally st@bbed 33-year-old
Uchenna Okirie, popularly known as Uche, in the communal corridor of the
accommodation they shared at Somerleyton House in Norwich on November 22, 2025.
The attack happened at Somerleyton House on Somerleyton
Street, Norwich, on November 22.
According to Norfolk Constabulary, Okirie was using his
phone when Katabana attacked him with a knife.
Katabana initially st@bbed Okirie once before repeatedly
attacking him and kicking him in the head while he lay on the floor.
Okirie was pronounced de@d at the scene shortly after 6am. A
post-mortem examination found that he died from a stab wound to the chest.
After the k!lling, Katabana activated the building’s fire
alarm and walked to Bethel Street Police Station, where he surrendered to
officers.
He reportedly told police: “I have k!lled someone, I think.”
The murder weapon was never recovered, while Katabana
declined to explain his actions during police interviews, repeatedly responding
“no comment”.
At Norwich Crown Court, Katabana had pleaded guilty to
manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility but was subsequently
convicted of murd£r by a jury.
Judge Bate sentenced him to life imprisonment with a minimum
term of 20 years.
The judge noted that Katabana had five previous convictions for seven offences, including an earlier incident in which he kicked someone in the head while they were lying on the floor following an ass@ult.
“You act impulsively and resolve issues through violence,” the judge told him.
Katabana’s defence argued that his actions were linked to a
traumatic upbringing in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, the court heard that he had already armed himself
with a knife before contacting Okirie and arranging to meet him.
Senior investigating officer Alix Wright of Norfolk Police
described the k!lling as a deliberate attack.
“This was a violent and unprovoked attack,” Wright said.
“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.”
She added that the police’s thoughts remained with Okirie’s
family and expressed hope that the conviction would provide them with “a
measure of justice” for their loss.
Okirie, who was 33 at the time of his death, was a graduate
of the University of East Anglia, where he studied economics.
0 Comments