Man Convicted of Attempting to Murder UK Social Worker

He was also found guilty of wounding 2 police officers

A sign from Haringey Council reminds people to stay at home near Alexandra Palace in London, on April 26, 2020. (Edward Smith/Getty Images)

A man who stabbed a social worker who was conducting welfare checks on three children has been convicted of attempted murder.

Sulai Man, 34, accepted he had stabbed Themba Nkomo, 61, who was attacked in the hallway outside the flat in Wood Green, north London, on Aug. 6, 2021.

But he denied he was intending to murder the social worker, who was employed by Haringey Council.

Man was also convicted of wounding police constables David Turpin and Luke Smith with intent. They had gone to the aid of Nkomo, who was stabbed eight times.

Nkomo was in court when the verdicts were read out on Wednesday.

Sentencing was adjourned for psychiatric reports, but Judge Michael Topolski KC praised Nkomo for the “enormous dignity” he had conducted himself with during the trial.

‘Grave Crimes’

Topolski went on to tell the defendant, “Be in no doubt you now face a very significant period in custody, namely many years, and that will be determined by me after I have considered all the reports.”

The judge also praised social workers who he said were often “vilified,” and he went on to thank Nkomo for his “distinguished career,” which was ended by the attack because it had left him too frightened.

The trial at the Old Bailey heard Man, who is also known as Sulai Bukhari, had a long-running dispute with Haringey Council’s social services department, which had repeatedly sought to gain access to the flat to check on the children.

The trial heard there had been hundreds of emails between Man and social services about the issue of them conducting welfare checks on the children.

Man told the trial that because the children were autistic he feared they would be classed as Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) in the event of them catching COVID-19.

Man said he had read a BBC article in March 2021 which suggested there was an NHS policy in place during the pandemic which classed people with special needs as being DNR.

Man said of the flat: “It was a bubble. Everything they needed was in that bubble and that included love and care.”

Children Didn’t Go Outside for a Year

But he refused to let the children go outside, even for a walk in the park or to get some sunshine in the height of summer.

The jury was shown body camera footage from police officers as they forced entry into the flat after failing to persuade a woman to open the door.

Man had gone outside before the police arrived and was lurking in a communal area, wearing a mask and a black hoodie, and clutching a Swiss army-style knife in his hand.

Suddenly, after the police gained entry to the flat using bolt cutters to cut a chain on the door, Man attacked Nkomo, who had been left in the hallway by the front door.

The defendant described the attack on Nkomo and the police officers as a “moment of desperation.”

The children in the case cannot be identified for legal reasons.