Kwasi Mensah-Ababio’s sister has paid tribute to her “humble and gracious” brother as four men are jailed for killing him.
Mr Mensah-Ababio was shot in the head as he sat on a bench in Monks Park on July 7, 2019.
The 26-year-old from Neasden was killed two days after rapper Craig Richard Small, known as Smallz, was also shot in the head on the Harrow Road.
Alhassan Jalloh, 21, and Karlos Gracia, 23, both of Stonebridge Park, and Rene Montaque, 35, of Edgware, were all convicted of murder after a trial at the Old Bailey and sentenced on November 13.
Montaque was jailed for life with a minimum of 30 years, Jalloh for a minimum 25 years and six months and Gracia for life with a minimum 26 years.
Taalib Rowe, 25, of Luton, was jailed for 17 years for manslaughter, with two thirds to be served before release on licence.
The police investigation found Montaque was seeking vengeance for the murder of his close friend Craig, allegedly by rival gang St Raph’s.
The four defendants were seen on CCTV entering Monks Park and, mistaking Mr Mensah-Ababio to be the person responsible for Mr Small’s death, they shot him, point blank, in the head.
Kwasi’s sister said in a statement: “Kwasi was a boss, he was hard working and always willing to help whether it be helping me with big brother things like killing spiders in my room or being the voice of reason in our household.
“He was wildly intelligent and he taught me so much about being humble and gracious always.
“He was naturally sweet natured and sympathetic but he was also protective of his family.”
She said her brother had “so much success to look forward to”.
“Kwasi was never involved in gangs or crime at all and not one person in this world could have predicted the amount of violence that would be carried out towards him on July 7, 2019,” she added.
“No amount of time is going to stop the pain that we had to endure throughout this period, no amount of time is going to rid the guilt that we all feel individually for various things on that day, even though it wasn’t our fault.
“My right hand is no longer here, my children will never have immediate cousins, my children will only know pictures of their uncle, my parents will never see their only son grow up to have a family and these are things that will never hurt any less.”
Det Sgt Brian Jones said: “This was a shocking case and Kwasi’s untimely and violent death was the result of the defendants’ appetite for vengeance.
“It has caused devastation to a family and although nothing can bring Kwasi back, I sincerely hope that his family feel that justice has been done.
“Our team, like all homicide teams across the Met, work relentlessly to identify suspects and bring them to justice, and this case was no exception.”
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