Andre Aderemi murder: Mother demands local youth hubs in Croydon

A decade after her 19-year-old son was killed in a sword attack on the Monks Hill Estate in Croydon, Yemi Hughes says the borough still lacks small, local youth hubs that could steer young people away from violence. Andre Aderemi was murdered in August 2016, leaving a family that still gathers at his grave to mark birthdays and weddings he will never attend.

Hughes spoke to MyLondon after a memorial service at the cemetery where 50 friends and relatives left flowers and watched the FA Community Shield, a match Andre would have loved. She described the daily conversations about him and the hole his absence leaves at family gatherings. Andre, she said, was the soul of the party, full of love for his brothers, his mother, and his extended family.

A grandmother’s pride, a mother’s grief

Six months ago, Hughes became a grandmother for the first time when her 24-year-old son, Andre’s younger brother, had a daughter. The moment was bittersweet. Andre, who was 11 years older than his brother, would have been a father himself by now. Hughes said she feels the loss of those milestones, parenthood, a career, a partner, as sharply as the loss of her son.

Her youngest son, who was eight when Andre died, struggles to remember him. The family recently found a memory stick with 50 videos of Christmases and birthdays, but the boy, now 18, had no recollection of the celebrations. Hughes tells him often that Andre adored him, but the memories are gone. The trauma has left him afraid to go out alone or use public transport, though he rides a moped. Police stops, she said, are frequent and often rough, adding to his distress.

Jobs and safe spaces

Hughes, a secondary school teacher, believes young people turn to crime when they lack opportunities. She said school leavers struggle to find jobs, with adults taking the entry-level roles in supermarkets and hair salons that once gave teenagers their first work experience. The result, she said, is a generation with nothing to do but hang around, vulnerable to gangs and violence.

In April, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced a £30m fund to open late-night youth clubs in every borough. The clubs, due to launch this year, will offer activities, mentorship, and food, aiming to give young people a safe place to go. Khan’s office said the investment would ensure no one is left behind, citing the success of the Legacy Youth Zone in Thornton Heath.

Hughes said the plan falls short. One large club per borough, she argued, will not work for young people who are wary of travelling to unfamiliar areas. She wants small, local hubs where teenagers can feel safe and supported. Individual community efforts, she said, are not enough to fill the gap.

Campaigning and frustration

Since Andre’s murder, Hughes has become an anti-knife crime campaigner. She has fundraised for bleed control kits, supported Idris Elba’s Don’t Stop Your Future campaign, and met with then-opposition leader Keir Starmer. But she said the lack of consequences for offenders has left her exhausted. Jamell Lonergan, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in Andre’s death, was released after serving five years of a ten-year sentence. Hughes said seeing him free reopens the family’s grief.

On the day Hughes spoke to MyLondon, two separate knife attacks occurred in Croydon and New Cross. Police have not made arrests in either case. Hughes said the violence underscores the urgent need for better support for young people. Without it, she warned, the cycle of crime and loss will continue.

What happens next

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime said the first of the new youth clubs funded by the £30m pledge will open in Croydon later this year. Locations and opening hours have not been announced. Hughes said she will continue campaigning for smaller, neighbourhood-based hubs. Croydon Council has not responded to requests for comment on local youth provision.