Man found guilty of mistaken identity murder in Old Kent Road

Somalian Abdinasir Hassan, 21, unemployed and of no fixed address, will be sentenced on 4 September.

On 30 June last year 34-year-old Hamouda Bessaad, a Tunisian national, went to the Old Kent Road after finishing work to meet a friend.

He was walking near the post office close to Madron Street at about 10.25pm when Hassan ran up behind him and stabbed him in the back with a knife.

Mr Bessaad walked some distance to seek help at a local cafe but died at the scene.

The court heard that earlier in the evening Hassan had a violent altercation with a number of Algerian men in an internet cafe in the Old Kent Road. He had been made to leave the cafe.

Hassan was also in the Old Kent Road later that night and as he saw Mr Bessaad walk by, mistook him for the Algerian man at the cafe who had made him leave. He ran up to him, stabbing him in the upper body before running on.

"Mr Bessaad was a hardworking man who had made his home in London but sent home money when ever he could to his family in Tunisia," said DI Sarah Rees.

"He worked as a waiter in Blackheath and all his colleagues and customers there were shocked by the murder of a man who they thought would have no enemies.

"Members of his family in the UK and in Tunisia have suffered intolerable grief since his life was taken.

"I wish to express my thanks to the people who came forward and gave evidence at the trial of Abdinasir Hassan, and pay tribute to the fortitude of Hamouda's family who have patiently waited for this day."