Incident Report: Gameli Akuklu and William Kadama
Nov 01, 2020Homepage > Incident Report > Commercial Pools
Local boys Gameli Akuklu (14) and his friend William Kadama (15) visited the Peel Centre swimming pool on Tuesday, 30 July 2002, as part of a holiday activity club sponsored by Barnet Council. The two boys arrived at the pool along with 16 other teenagers at 13:30, and at 14:00, they were pulled unconscious from the water, requiring resuscitation. Gameli was pronounced dead at 15:28, shortly after they arrived at Northwick Park Hospital. William was in critical condition and transferred first to Barnet General Hospital and then to Great Ormand Street Hospital, a specialist children’s hospital (Bennetto, 2002). William was placed on a ventilator but died six days later (BBC, 2002d). Both boys were first named in the press on Thursday, 1 August 2002, three days after the accident. Flowers from members of the community were placed against the wall of the homes of the two boy’s families.
Gameli’s mother, Evelyn Akuklu, was a nurse at Homerton Hospital. Gameli’s father, Cephas Akuklu, was a lecturer in accountancy and William’s aunt was a lecturer in IT, both working at Barnet College. William’s mother and father, both originally from Uganda, had died, and William was being looked after by his remaining family in London (BBC, 2002b). Gameli went to St Mary’s Church of England Secondary School in West Hendon and regularly attended the International Gospel Church at Burnt Oak. Gameli’s extended family lived in Ghana and are expected to fly to the UK for a tribute service to be held in honour of both boys (BBC, 2002b).
On 5 September 2002, both parents were shocked that they may have to wait up to 18 months to find out exactly how the tragedy happened. Mr and Mrs Akuklu said (TILL, 2002):
I think that is too long. We just want a simple answer and that is the truth. I don't know what happened that day.
The whole incident is a shocking tragedy for us and I am still really confused. But I hope that at the end of the day we will know the truth as to what happened at the pool. What was the lifeguard doing? Were they following procedure? I can't understand it. I wish I could have direct contact with the people involved, especially the youth workers, so they could tell me exactly what they were doing.
Sam Sklar, 14, who knew both boys, said:
They were good friends of mine. They were both lovely persons who would not judge you at all. I'm really upset about what happened. I feel for their families.
On Friday 7 and Saturday 8 September 2002, hundreds of mourners paid their respects at a wake and funeral service for Gameli at the International Gospel Church in Watling Avenue, Burnt Oak (TILL, 2002). Senior Pastor Paul Sands said (BBC, 2002b):
Gameli and William were best friends. Both boys were heavily involved with the church and youth group activities. They were both almost six feet tall even though they were only 14 years old. They were quite shy and quiet boys and had some fun like any other teenagers, but both were committed Christians. They were involved in the church youth group and in group meetings in local parishioners’ homes. Gameli was especially shy and a sensitive boy. He was a keen footballer and a supporter of Manchester United. He used to make the tea for parishioners after services on Sundays and greet people, shaking hands as they entered and left the service.
The families are absolutely heartbroken. Their grieving has only just begun. The whole community is devastated by this. The boy’s families had signed the boys up at Barnet College, where both Gameli’s father and William’s aunt worked, to a local authority run scheme to keep school-aged children busy during the holidays. This was an example of good parenting – putting the boys on a scheme to keep them occupied for the school holidays, but it went tragically wrong. There are no accusations being made, but the family want to know the truth of the matter and who was responsible for this. The community will be praying for both boys.
The accident (Tuesday 30 July 2002, the Peel Centre)
The Peel Centre was a facility owned by the Metropolitan Police. At times when it was not used by the Police for training, it was opened to the public as part of a community engagement initiative. In years running up to 2002, when the accident occurred, there had been increasing tension between the Police and some of London’s poorest boroughs. The Metropolitan Police was undergoing substantial reform following reports of institutional racism, rising violent crime in London Boroughs, the mishandling of riots, and the rapidly developing threat of extremism following 911 in 2001. At least in part, this contributed to the quantity of journalistic attention this case attracted in comparison to other cases of children who drowned and cases of double drownings.
In response to this backdrop, Barnet Council and the Metropolitan Police were working hard on building ties in the community. They set up a summer holiday scheme run jointly by the Metropolitan Police and the London Borough of Barnet Council. The Barnet Council Splash project was a £12 million investment designed to improve school holiday activities for children in the borough (Bennetto, 2002). Most of the teenagers in the pool were from the Rainbow Centre in Dollis Valley Way, Dollis Valley estate, and The Annunciation Youth Club, in Thirlby Road, Edgware, along with six youth workers.
The Peel Centre on Aerodrome Road, Hendon, was part of the Hendon Police Training College and had a swimming pool which was 33 metres by 12.5 metres. It had a 1.1-metre shallow end and, at the halfway point, reached 2 metres before a steep slope to 3.8 metres. There were 1 and 3-metre diving boards in use at the time of the accident which exited into the same pool, rather than a separate diving pit. It had a large area of glazing at the deep end of the pool, which left the pool with significant glare, reflection, and turbulence issues.
On Tuesday, 30 July 2002, at around 13:30, a group of 16 teenagers arrived at the pool. Mr Danny Phillips was a 39-year-old father of four children and a serving police constable at the time of the accident. He was the only lifeguard on duty and had been a lifeguard for over 20 years. Mr Phillips was also an RLSS UK pool lifeguard trainer assessor, trainer examiner for the STA, and an ASA and STA qualified swimming instructor.
At around 13:33, a 15-year-old boy cut his knee on a damaged tile by the deep end steps. Mr Phillips instructed the boy to raise his leg on the lifeguard chair and called one of the adult youth workers to assist him. The pool was not cleared at this point as Mr Phillips would later explain that he felt he could still maintain supervision of the pool. Mr Phillips made a call for an ambulance from the poolside phone for the boy to be taken to the hospital as the bleed was quite deep. The wound had bled through the second bandage, so Mr Phillips replaced the bandage. The boy was moved to the emergency double doors, ready to be taken away by the ambulance. It was at this point that Mr Phillips noticed an unexpected second group, the Rainbow group, enter poolside. Mr Phillips was informed by his Sergeant via the poolside phone that the ratio of 1 lifeguard to 40 swimmers would not be breached if this second group were permitted entry, so Mr Phillips continued supervising the pool.
At around 14:00, approximately five minutes after the Rainbow group had entered the pool, Mr Phillips was at his lifeguard post when other children swimming spotted the two boys at the bottom of the pool. They alerted an adult carer, who subsequently ran around the pool to alert Mr Phillips. The carer said to Mr Phillips (BBC News, 2006c):
There are two boys at the bottom of the pool, they have been down there a little bit, I don’t know if they are messing around.
Mr Phillips then rushed to investigate and later said at trial:
At first, I could only see what appeared to be a dark shirt on the black pool line obscured by the glare and turbulence in the busy pool. I cleared the pool and then jumped into the water to recover the first boy. I brought the boy [William] up first and called for assistance to get him lifted out. I was struggling with him because he was a large lad. I gave him ventilation whilst in the water to put some air into his lungs by pinching his nose and blowing through his mouth, but I got no reaction. A security guard helped lift the boy from the pool and began CPR.
Once the boy was lifted out of the pool, I brought the other boy [Gameli] to the surface. His eyes were rolled back, and he was clearly in a poorly condition. I got him to the side, and I tried ventilating him and I got a little reaction from him. Once he was lifted out of the pool, I began CPR on him on the poolside for about ten minutes before becoming exhausted. The ambulance crews arrived shortly after and they took over.
Gameli was taken to Northwick Park Hospital and died at 15:28, shortly after his arrival. William died six days later at Great Ormand Street Hospital (BBC, 2002d). The third boy with the cut to his knee was taken to Northwick Park Hospital for treatment of his knee but was released the same day with no lasting injuries.
Coroner’s inquests & multi-party enforcement agency investigation (July 2002-March 2005)
The pool was shut following the tragedy, and police said it would remain closed indefinitely (BBC, 2007). The investigation is being led by Detective Superintendent Russell Penny of the Metropolitan Police’s Internal Investigation Command (IIC) and is supervised by Leo Pilkington of the Independent Police Complaints Authority (now the IPCC) (Hopkins, 2002). Leo Pilkington said:
The first, most important thing is managing the potential witnesses and achieving a balance between treating the young people humanely and getting information out of them quickly that might not be available later.
Deputy Commissioner of the IIC, Ian Blair, said (BBC, 2002a; Hopkins, 2002):
This is a tragic and dreadful event and I extend my heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of both boys. I have instigated a thorough investigation to establish exactly what happened. In addition, the health and safety executive has been notified and we will assist them in any way possible. We are providing family liaison officer support to the boys' families and the other children who were present at the time. I have instigated a thorough investigation supervised by the Police Complaints Authority to establish exactly what happened. A police family liaison officer, youth and social workers will be supporting the families involved.
This is a local project that has been running for some years to give youths in the area something to do during the holidays. Nobody is quite sure what happened as yet, but there were no running battles in the pool between the children or anything like that. We just don't know how the boys ended up at the bottom of the pool.
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police Authority explained the investigation could take between six and 18 months, saying (TILL, 2002):
It is a very complex case and a detailed investigation. There are so many factors that come into it and that can affect time scales. Around 20 key witnesses have been interviewed by police trying to piece together how two teenage boys died in a swimming pool at the Hendon Police Training College.
We have got a meeting later on today when we will have a much clearer idea of what is going on. At the moment, 20 or so key witnesses among the teenagers’ present have been interviewed by specially trained police officers and statements taken.
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said (BBC, 2002d):
I wish to express my deepest sympathy and condolences to the family and friends of William following his tragic death at Great Ormond Street Hospital this morning.
This is an extremely distressing time for all concerned and we will continue to provide family liaison officer support to both William's and Gameli's families. William sadly never regained consciousness after he was recovered from the swimming pool. The decision to switch off the life support machine was a joint one between William’s family and doctors at Great Ormand Street Hospital. The death of Gameli was extremely distressing, and the death of William is equally tragic.
It is normal for up to 40 youngsters to be supervised by a single lifeguard. We want to know what happened and we will do our best to find out. We are happy that there was someone there who was supervising but will be looking to see if the people there had got the right level of supervision. At this stage it appears that the correct level was there.
A post-mortem is expected to be carried out on Wednesday 7th [August 2002] and an inquest will be held in due course. Our sympathy is with the family and friends of both the boys at this time. An investigation into the tragedy is under way and being supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Authority.
Victor Lyon, leader of Barnet Council said the authority will hold its own investigation into the incident saying (BBC, 2002a):
I can’t think, both as a parent and a grandparent, of a safer venue to send children. I feel desperately sorry for the parents and I hope the child in intensive care makes a full and speedy recovery. This is an awful tragedy, and we are working closely with the police and will continue to do so until all the facts are established.
A post-mortem on Gameli took place on Wednesday 31st July 2002 (2002a). Both boys’ post-mortems undertaken at Finchley Mortuary established the cause of death as drowning. An inquest into Gameli’s death was opened at Hornsey Coroner’s Court on Friday, 2 August 2002. The inquest into William’s death was held on 8 August 2002. Gameli’s funeral took place on 31 August 2002 at Hendon Cemetery on Holders Hill Road (TILL, 2002). Detective Chief Inspector Ronald Knight, who is investigating the deaths of the boys, said at the opening of the inquest into William's death that there was no evidence to suggest horseplay contributed to the boys' deaths (TILL, 2002).
Charging decision of Mr Phillips (March 2005)
The Health and Safety Executive was notified following the accident. After an independent Metropolitan Police inquiry by the anti-corruption squad, the evidence collected was passed to the CPS. The CPS then took the decision to prosecute Mr Phillips on two counts of gross negligence manslaughter and one count of contravening s.7(1) and s.33 HSWA 1974. Mr Phillips was first told he would be prosecuted in March 2005, some 2 years 8 months after the accident. A sergeant, two members of staff (one now retired) and five youth workers were also investigated, but the CPS decided to take no further action. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said (Edwards, 2005):
Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of Gameli and William. We recognise that today's announcement will cause their families additional distress and bring painful memories to the fore. We continue to provide them with what support and help we can. This will undoubtedly be a difficult time for Mr Phillips, his family, and his colleagues.
Harriet Territs, of Jones Day Law, a solicitor representing the boy’s families, said (Kummer, 2005):
They wanted to make sure that the tragic incident could never be repeated, regardless of the outcome of the trial. They welcome the fact that there is a public hearing, but this is just the first step in a series of hearings and they firmly believe you always have to look at the organisations involved it's not enough to look at the individuals.
For them, it's not a justice issue, it's about making sure it doesn't happen again and that has got to start with the organisations. It's a case of whether the organisations should also be held accountable and responsible and really, we are just waiting for a decision on that.
No charges were brought against Barnet Council or the Metropolitan Police until 1st August 2006, after the trial of Mr Phillips had concluded.
R v Daniel Lewis Phillips (2005) (Central Criminal Court, 12 June 2006)
Mr Phillips first appeared at the City of London Magistrates’ Court on 1 March 2005. He was granted unconditional bail, and the case was automatically sent for trial at the Central London Criminal Court (Old Bailey) to begin on 15 April 2005. Mr Phillips continued work in a non-operational role in the human resources directorate of the Metropolitan Police. The trial was presided over by HHJ Bean QC (Bean LJ, 2014), an experienced trial judge and future Chair of the Law Commission and Lord Justice of Appeal.
Richard Latham QC, prosecuting, said Mr Phillips was helping another boy with a cut knee and had called an ambulance for the boy when Gameli and William were spotted by other swimmers at the bottom of the pool. The Court heard how Mr Phillips entered the water and recovered both boys to the poolside before commencing CPR on one of the boys, and a bystander commenced CPR on the other. Two girls alerted Mr Phillips the two shadows on the bottom of the pool.
Mr Latham QC said the 29 children had arrived from the two Barnet Council play schemes with social workers, but Mr Phillips was the only lifeguard on poolside at the time. Mr Latham QC criticised the lack of an adequate Emergency Action Plan at the facility and said that Mr Phillips was acting with “the best of intentions” but alleged he had been grossly negligent in the execution of his duties. The court later heard that it was around 20 minutes after Mr Phillips started treating the boy with the cut knee when the two boys were spotted (Mail Online, 2006). The court heard how no one saw the two boys struggle, and it could not be established how long they had been underwater but that it could have been anywhere up to 20 minutes.
Mr Phillips told the court how the deaths had put him under great strain, had contributed to the breakdown of his marriage, and damaged his health. The court heard that he had been signed off work in the two months following the accident and two years before he was fit enough to return to full-time work. Mr Phillips reported that he was still at the time of trial, 3 years and 10 months later, receiving occupational health treatment, including counselling. Mr Phillips told the court while he had been helping the injured boy, he had kept his eyes on the pool (BBC, 2006e).
On 12 June 2006, after an eight-week trial, the jury returned unanimous not guilty verdicts on the two counts of manslaughter. The jury was not able to reach a sufficient majority verdict on the single count of a breach of s.7(1) and s.33 HSWA 1974. HHJ dismissed the jury and proceeded to address the court on the next steps. HHJ Bean QC started by saying the delays in bringing the case were deplorable, but the reasons for it were complicated (BBC, 2006e). He proceeded to say that in circumstances where an accused is neither convicted nor acquitted, it falls to the CPS to decide whether to issue proceedings for a retrial of Mr Phillips for the s.7(1) charge. HHJ Bean gave the CPS seven days to decide if they wished to order a retrial on the single count of a breach of s.7 and s.33.
On 16 June 2006, the CPS informed the court that they would not be issuing proceedings for a retrial of Mr Phillips on the single count. The CPS also clarified that they would not be pursuing action against two other members of police staff and five civilian employees (BBC, 2006e).
Mr Phillips said following the trial (Dutta, 2006b):
This is a terrible tragedy that may or may not have been preventable. I still have disturbed sleep and flashbacks. It was a terrible accident and it will live with me for the rest of my life and will live with the families forever. The families want to know how William and Gameli drowned and we are never going to get that explanation.
The case has been traumatic, I still don't know why it was only me that was ever prosecuted. the independent pool consultants who testified at the trial both agreed that the operational procedure for the swimming pool was flawed and it was contradictory and confusing. I was just a lifeguard, I had training in relation to the pool operation. There were other people responsible. It will be up to the Health and Safety Executive.
It's been a terrible strain on me and my family life. I have been ill and it has affected my health. It is such a relief, I am trying to get myself back together so I can start to rebuild my life.
Trish Duffy was a 16-year-old teenager in the pool at the time of the accident and said (Dutta, 2006b):
I had been on quite a few trips with William and Gameli. They were such nice guys, really fun to hang around with. They were always laughing and joking around and never separate from each other. It's something that I will remember for the rest of my life. I did testify and said what happened but we other children present never talk about it. It's quite upsetting. I never wanted Mr Phillips to be prosecuted. He was expected to do 500 things at once, the poor guy.
The Royal Life Saving Society UK would later support Mr Phillips to share the lessons of his story by including it within the syllabus of the National Pool Management Qualification for the benefit of educating future pool managers, lifeguards, and trainer assessors. The qualification was first published in 2009, following the introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, and continues to form a key part of the development of many pool managers in the UK and Ireland. Mr Phillips has since done a great deal to educate other lifeguards, trainer assessors, and pool managers on the importance of good pool management by sharing his experience of the accident and the litigation process that followed.
R v Metropolitan Police, Metropolitan Police Authority, and Barnet Council (2007) (13 July 2007, Central London Criminal Court, unreported)
First appearance at the City of London Magistrate’s Court, Plea before venue and allocation hearing (2 October 2006)
The HSE announced on 1 August 2006, less than 2 months after Mr Phillips trial had concluded, that it had charged the Metropolitan Police, the Metropolitan Police Authority and Barnet Council each with a single count of a breach of s.3(1) HSWA 1974. The first appearance of the parties was at the City of London Magistrates’ Court on 2 October 2006 (BBC, 2006g).
The third defendant, Barnet Council, pleaded guilty to a breach of s.3(1) HSWA 1974 at first appearance. The Council agreed that it did not make a formal risk assessment or a formal register of the swimming ability of those on the placement, though both were done informally on the day. The Magistrates also committed Barnet Council to the Crown Court for sentence (BBC, 2006g). Barnet Council leader Mike Freer said:
The HSE has accepted that the council was not responsible for the tragic deaths of the two teenagers at the Metropolitan Police's Peel Centre swimming pool in July 2002. Barnet Council accepts that some administrative procedures were not followed, however, these did not in any way contribute to the tragedy.
Since July 2002, there are tighter controls on visits to facilities such as the Peel Centre. The youth service policy has been revised and now requires such trips to be expressly sanctioned by a member of the Youth Service management team who checks that risk assessments address all significant risks.
Barnet Council was greatly shocked and saddened by the tragic incident involving Gameli and William. It has expressed sympathy and condolences both privately and publicly and remains committed to sparing the families of Gameli and William any further anguish.
The second defendant, the Metropolitan Police Authority did not enter a plea and their case was also sent to the Crown Court for trial alongside the Metropolitan Police. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Authority said (Dutta, 2006a):
The Metropolitan Police Authority is awaiting clarification from the HSE of the precise charge against the Metropolitan Police Authority. Until then we are not able to enter a plea.
The HSE, following the hearing, withdrew the charge against the Metropolitan Police Authority on grounds that the Metropolitan Police Authority did not have day-to-day control of the pool. Proceedings were continued against the Metropolitan Police.
The first defendant, the Metropolitan Police, entered a plea of not guilty at the Magistrates Court and the case was sent to the Crown Court for trial.
Central London Criminal Court, Trial and Netwon Hearing (3 July 2007)
The trial of the Metropolitan Police for their part in the accident appeared at the Central London Criminal Court on 3 July 2007, one year after Mr Phillip's case had concluded and five years after the accident. The Metropolitan Police revised their plea and pled guilty to a single count of a breach of s.3(1) HSWA 1974. HHJ Bean QC proceeded to conduct the Newton hearing to make a finding on disputed facts between the parties, which would have a material impact on the sentence imposed.
Keith Morton (QC, 2011), of Temple Garden Chambers, representing the Metropolitan Police said in mitigation:
Any death is tragic but of course none more so than that of two young children. On behalf of the Metropolitan Police, we are sorry for the grave loss to the boys’ family and friends.
The Court heard how it was unclear how the boys had drowned. William Clegg QC, of 2 Bedford Row, prosecuting, said:
At least two and possibly three lifeguards should have been on duty at the time of the accident. During the event of an emergency, one lifeguard could not be expected to cope.
No one can say if there were an added number of lifeguards both boys would have been rescued, but on a statistical basis, they would have had a better chance of being rescued in any event.
The case was adjourned to allow time to prepare for the sentencing of the Metropolitan Police and Barnet Council which took place on 13 July 2007.
Central London Criminal Court, Sentencing hearing (13 July 2007)
On Friday, 13 July 2007, at the sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey, HHJ Bean QC said (Times, 2007):
The Metropolitan Police’s failure to provide a second lifeguard created at least a material increase in the risk of drowning. The safety of children taking part in schemes of this kind is of paramount importance. Parents and guardians need to be confident that they are leaving their children in safe hands and no one would argue otherwise.
I fine the Metropolitan Police £75,000 and order the payment of £50,000 to cover the prosecution costs. I fine Barnet Council £16,500 and order the payment of £10,000 to cover the prosecution costs for its contribution in failing to carry out a proper risk assessment of the use of the Peel Centre as part of the holiday scheme.
I have decided not to increase the fine levied against the Metropolitan Police on account of not diverting more public money away from the fight against crime
I award both parties credit for their guilty plea, but it should not be forgotten that Mr Phillips was made an appalling scapegoat in being charged with manslaughter before rightly being acquitted of all charges. The Metropolitan Police as his employer should be ashamed of the way in which he was hung out to dry.
I can only hope that a line is now drawn under this case, allowing the boy’s families to grieve in peace.
Keith Morton said on behalf of the Metropolitan Police:
The service continues to extend its condolences to the family and friends of the boys who died and recognise that today's decision will bring back painful memories.
The HSE said its investigation had uncovered serious deficiencies in the operation of the pool by the Metropolitan Police Service and poor control of the overall activity by the London Borough of Barnet. Ron Wright, HSE Principal Inspector said (Mail Online, 2002):
Health and safety isn’t about stopping fun activities, such as those organized for young people. However, this case illustrates the tragic results when the safety of swimmers is not properly considered. Pool operators need to make sure that there are enough lifeguards for the size of the pool and the activities taking place. Play scheme organizers need to establish the swimming ability of the children involved and the suitability of the activity and pool.
References (32)
Note: I wish those affected all the best in their future. No part of this article purports to attribute blame. See our methodology page for further details of how these case summaries are constructed.
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Citation: Jacklin, D. 2020. Case Summary: Gameli Akuklu and William Kadama. Water Incident Research Hub, 1 November.