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Mohamed Ali Maslah on his wedding day |
Tributes to ‘lovely guy’ who died in 3am stabbing at flats
Minicab driver’s boss: ‘It is sad he had to die, effectively in the line of duty’
A FATHER-of five was stabbed to death in a late-night row while working as a minicab driver over the bank holiday weekend.
Mohamed Ali Maslah, 41, from the Wendling estate in Kentish Town, was found dead in an Islington street from a stab wound to the heart in the early hours of Saturday.
His body was yards from the car he relied on for his livelihood and in which he had taken a last fare to a block of flats in Sherborne Street in the minutes before his death.
A 22-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of murder later that day, and held in custody.
Mr Maslah’s widow, Sahra Ahmed, 35, and five children under 11, were struggling this week to come to terms with the brutality of his death, according to his father, Silid Ahmed Sharif.
He said on Tuesday: “Death is God-given, it is a natural process, but the way he died and the brutality of the killing have left us deep in shock, and grieving.
“You cannot avoid death, but to be killed while you are earning a decent living is terrible. Nobody can replace a father, a man who was trying to uplift his family and make his living. These children now have no father, and his wife now has no husband.”
Mr Sharif praised the professionalism of the detectives working on the case but added that the criminal justice system should not be lenient towards Mr Maslah’s killer.
Mr Maslah, who worked for a minicab firm based in Archway, was a British citizen who gained asylum after fleeing his native Somalia.
Helen Saunders, owner of Archway Cars, said drivers had taken extra precautions since the tragedy.
She added: “We’re very shocked, and very saddened. He was a lovely guy. He’d been with us just six months and shown that he was a very honest, smart young man trying to make a living, and it is very, very sad that someone like him had to die, effectively in the line of duty.
“Everyone is very down, and we’re not staying open as late as we were and being even more careful in selecting which jobs we take.”
While colleagues were organising a collection for Mr Maslah’s family, Ms Saunders said people should show more respect for the risks minicab drivers take.
He is understood to have taken a late fare from the firm’s office to the Islington street where he died.
Residents of McIndoe House, off Sherborne Road, were wakened at about 3am by sounds of an argument, which then erupted into a fight.
One resident, Keith Sandwell, dialled 999 as soon as he heard the row. Mr Sandwell, a 55-year-old father-of-one, said: “The fight went on for between five and 10 minutes and I shouted down three times that the police were on their way. I wished I could have done something.”
A post-mortem revealed Mr Maslah died from a single stab wound to the heart.
Police are still seeking witnesses to the attack, who should call Detective Chief Inspector Mark Kandiah at the incident room on 020 8345 1585, or, to remain anonymous, Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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