Parents' emotional graveside message on knife crime as Bristol remembers another Carnival death
The parents of a young Bristol man murdered at the Notting Hill Carnival in London have sent an emotional message of support and solidarity to the families of two more people who were killed at this year’s event.
Vincent and Sandra - the parents of Takayo Nembhard - called on the authorities to do more to stop the violence at the event, and said they warned police there would be more deaths if the killers of their son were not brought to justice.
The 21-year-old former Bristol Rovers trainee and up-and-coming rapper from Fishponds was killed in an incident after the end of the Notting Hill Carnival in 2022, when he was stabbed to death in the street in a huge group of people.
Two years on and although five people have been arrested - including at least three from Bristol - no one has yet been charged, despite a £20,000 reward being issued on the first anniversary of his death last year, for information leading to a conviction.
Now, after the deaths of young mum Cher Maximen, who had family in Bristol, and chef Mussie Imnetu, the parents of Takayo ‘TK’ Nembhard, have said the violence needs to stop to save the carnival.
In a video message filmed from the grave of their son, TK's father Vincent said: “Two years ago our son was murdered at the Notting Hill Carnival. That’s him lying there in his grave.
“When we spoke to the police we said to them that if they don’t find the people that murdered our son, and charge them and sentence them, then this could happen again at the Carnival. And that was two years ago. And it’s two years now and no one has been charged up to today.
“Now, look what happened, a young girl going to Carnival with her child to enjoy herself, and murdered in front of her child. How cruel can you be? How cruel can you be to take a young girl’s life in front of her child?” he added.
Cher Maximen, a 32-year-old mum from Camden, was stabbed on the Sunday evening of this year’s Notting Hill Carnival and died from her injuries six days later. She had family in Bristol, was a regular visitor to the city, and a Remembrance Night is taking place at the Malcolm X Centre in St Pauls this Friday, September 27, from 6pm to midnight, for all in Bristol who knew her.
“These things need to stop,” said Vincent. “We all love Carnival. My wife loves Carnival, I love Carnival, and we’ve been to Carnival before. And Carnival is for the Caribbean people. And people go there to enjoy themselves. But you’ve got a few bad apples, who are going in there and spoiling it for everybody.
“We need to eradicate them. Because we want Carnival to still go on, because it’s part of our culture. The Government need to get rid of the people who are carrying knives coming in to Carnival,” he added.
READ MORE: Family of Bristol rapper TKorStretch to release posthumous EP after Notting Hill stabbing
Takayo, was one of Bristol’s leading young rappers, who performed under the stage name TKor Stretch. He had secured London management and had played prominent gigs, including at the St Pauls Carnival. After TK’s death two years ago, the family posthumously released an album of his music.
Now, his parents said they want to be there for the families of those killed at this year’s event. “Our condolences go out to the people (who knew) the victim, because we know it’s not easy, because we’re going through the same pain, and it’s not easy,” said Vincent.
“These things need to stop. We are here as a family, because there’s a lot of us going through the same pain. There’s a lot of our children, our boys, being murdered. And there’s a lot of us in the country going through the same thing.
“And we are here to support each other, we should be supporting each other. This message is going out, and if anyone is going through the same thing, we can link up, because we understand each other’s feelings.
“These things can’t carry on. I feel so sad for that girl who passed away with her child. We cannot allow people to keep carrying knives going into Carnival, and please, for the family - I know it’s hard, but you have to be strong, you have to trust God, and just keep going,” he added.