Inquest concludes Christopher Kapessa died after deliberate push

Christopher Kapessa died aged 13 after drowning in the River Cynon in Wales.

An inquest into Christopher’s death by David Regan, Assistant Coroner for South Wales Central, concluded on Monday 22^nd January 2024 that Christopher died by submersion when intentionally pushed by another child. He found that Christopher was deliberately pushed from behind, and that the boy who pushed Christopher realised that there was a risk of some harm resulting from the push. The Coroner also considered that the boy who pushed Christopher had not been honest as to how it occurred, and rejected the evidence the boy gave in the inquest that he slipped and fell into Christopher accidentally.

The Coroner also indicated that he will issue a Report to Prevent Future Deaths to the Coal Authority, who was responsible for the site where Christopher entered the water, due to a concern about the prevailing absence of a water safety policy with specific steps to protect members of the public. The Coroner noted that the Coal Authority had no such policy in place four years after Christopher’s death.

Serena Sekhon represented Christopher’s mother, led by Michael Mansfield KC and instructed by Daniel Cooper of Imran Khan & Partners.