by Aline Nassif and Gareth Davies

gareth.davies@essnmedia.co.uk

The mother of fatally stabbed Croydon teenager Oliver Kingonzila has told the Advertiser that she forgives his killer.

Caroline Kingonzila is grieving for a second time in just seven months after another son Herve died from a suspected heart attack during a football match in February.

When she spoke to us she was being supported at her home in West Croydon by dozens of tearful friends and family.

But, showing remarkable powers of forgiveness, the committed Christian said: "Whoever can take a knife and use it to hurt someone else is possessed by demons and needs help.

"I forgive that person, because my faith is strong, but only Jesus can help them."

She saw 19-year-old Croydon College student Oliver for the last time on Friday night just over two hours before he was killed after a fight outside the E Bar, in South Croydon.

"He left home at about 11pm and said he was going to a party with friends," she said.

"Oliver was a kind and gentle boy. He never carried a knife and could never harm anyone.

"I don't know why he was attacked. Maybe it's from a past argument over football or something. It doesn't make any sense to me."

Oliver was a talented footballer who was on the books of League Two team Barnet.

His dad Kimbeni is on his way back from the Democratic Republic of Congo where he has been for the past three weeks.

The family broke the tragic news to him on the phone and he is due to arrive back in Britain tomorrow (Monday).

Caroline said that 27-year-old Herve's death had hit Oliver hard.

She said: "The death of Herve had a bad effect on him. He was a brilliant player and won lots of trophies, but after Herve went he lost his passion for the game.

"I have lost two sons in less than a year. I am devastated."

One of Oliver's friends has told the Advertiser that he was supposed to go to a music session on Friday evening but didn't turn up.

If he had, his friend believes he would probably still be alive.

Oliver, who recently skippered the England Colleges FA team in a game against Italy, was a former Archbishop Lanfranc pupil.

Police say he was involved in a fight with two other people at 1.15am outside the bar in South End.

Oliver's sister Elodie, 22, said the whole family - including brothers Patrick, 25, and 18-year-old Christopher - were "totally devastated" .

She said: "We are all in shock. My mum and dad are not coping well, losing two sons in six months, it’s just too much to take.

"Oliver was outgoing, always smiling. He got on well with everybody and had a bright future. He was a lovely, open person.

"The whole family is totally devastated. We are still waiting to find out exactly what happened."

Christopher said he would remember him for his brilliant footballing ability.

He said: "As a captain everyone had so much love and respect for him. He had this amazing ability to make his team play to the best of their ability."

Christopher heard the news when a friend called and woke him up.

He said: "I didn’t believe what I was hearing. I thought it was a nightmare. I am still in shock."

Click on play below to view our video report:

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Two people have been arrested in connection with Oliver's death but one of those is in hospital being treated for stab wounds to the hands, which he too suffered in the fight.

Talk on the streets around the stabbing was that the fight was gang related.

A police spokesman said an incident room has been opened at Lewisham police station under DCI Damian Allain.

He said: "We now know there was a fracas outside the E Bar involving three people one of whom was the deceased.

"It may be that one of them (the third unaccounted for person) could also have been injured and may need hospital treatment.

"Either way they hold vital information to our ongoing investigation and I would urge them to call us on 0208 721 4805."

After police reopened long stretches of South End following an extensive search of the area throughout Saturday, their investigation focused around the E Bar itself and a small stretch of West Street behind the Half 'n' Half Lounge Bar.

Oliver's friends and family faced a painstaking wait to lay flowers at the scene of his death, as officers led them in small groups across the road to pay their respects.

A life-long friend of the family, who did not wish to be named, said that Oliver was a "good boy" who did not deserve what had happened.

He said: "Oliver wasn't that sort of person [a gangster]. He liked being with his friends and partying but he was a good boy. This shouldn't have happened to someone like him."

Witnesses posting on this website have told how they saw one of those involved in the street.

One said: "I was walking from central Croydon towards South Croydon and we saw a man running and clutching his hands and they were full of blood.

"He was running towards HUB. Then we noticed the trail of blood and got to the E Bar where everybody was outside and police and ambulances had turned up."

Ambulance crews and one rapid response vehicle attended the scene.

Pools of blood outside Streeter Marshall solicitors appear to be linked to the arrested man who had been stabbed in the hands.

Croydon police's murder squad are investigating.

The death comes less than a month after 17-year-old Nilanthan Murddi was stabbed to death in the street in West Croydon.

The pools of blood outside Streeter Marshall will be of no surprise to those working there.

The Advertiser carried a front page story earlier this year where staff complained about how Croydon police weren't doing enough to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in the High Street and South End.

They told how their CCTV cameras alone had picked up a bottling and an attempted break-in as well as scenes such as people urinating or vomiting over the front of their business.

Other businesses along the stretch of road agreed that crime on the street was spiralling out of control and that police weren't doing enough.

Meanwhile just a few hundred metres from the scene of the stabbing a sickening fight broke out on Saturday afternoon in broad daylight in front of stunned motorists.

In Bartlett Street, at around 12.45pm, outside the Advertiser offices, a row broke out between a driver of a Parcelnet lorry and a group of youths who were accusing him of trying to run them over.

He swung what appeared to be a wooden club of some kind at them while they threw kicks and punches at him and chased him down the street.

Horrified onlookers shouted at them to stop and screamed that they had called the police.

Our reporter at the scene said: "There was shouting and a group of youths were around this lorry and the driver was waving what looked like a club or a stick at them from the driver's seat.

"He then got out of the lorry and after a lot of finger wagging from the youths who had surrounded him he took a couple of swings at them.

"They responded by launching kicks and punches at him and chased him down the street.

"Eventually the guy was able to drive off but it is astonishing that this kind of behaviour is going on in the middle of the day in the centre of Croydon."

Owing to legal developments, the comment facility has been suspended.

Click on the interactive timeline below for details of all the stabbings which have come to public attention in Croydon this year.