Well, Why Not? Who, After All, Was There To Stop Him?

Award-winning rapper Ghetts has been jailed for 12 years after killing a university student in a hit and run.

Not just an ordinary hit and run, either. A vehicular rampage that should sutely have attracted a bigger sentence. 

The grime artist was speeding and over the drink-drive limit when he mowed down Nepalese national Yubin Tamang, 20, in north-east London.The musician, whose real name is Justin Clarke-Samuel, failed to stop after his BMW hit the 20-year-old in Ilford....CCTV footage showed a "quite appalling litany of incidents" leading up to the fatal collision which was "simply shocking". 

And where were the traffic cops?  The roadside CCTV monitors? Nowhere.

Outlining the facts, prosecutor Philip McGhee said Clarke-Samuel had been drinking alcohol on the evening of Saturday October 18, 2025. He was said to be one and a half times over the legal drink-drive limit and was driving at speeds up to 70mph before the crash.As he drove his BMW M5 at speed back towards his home in Woodford, east London, he failed to stop at six red traffic lights, the court was told. 

He repeatedly veered onto the wrong side of the road, mounted the curb and collided with a motorcyclist and a Mercedes, causing damage.He was going more than 60mph in a 30mph road before he hit Mr Tamang as he crossed Redbridge Lane, Ilford, at 11.33pm.Mr McGhee said: “Mr Tamang was still crossing the road. He could do nothing to avoid a collision. The defendant’s BMW ploughed into him. Mr Tamang was catapulted into the air before crashing down on the roadway. He sustained catastrophic injuries. 

“The defendant nonetheless continued to drive his car along Redbridge Lane East and for around another eight miles, for over a quarter of an hour after the collision, before completing his journey close to his home address at 11.48pm.” The defendant made no call to emergency services and Mr Tamang died in hospital from his injuries two days later.

Bit much for a first offence? Reader, of course it wasn't!  

The defendant had 12 previous convictions for 27 crimes.

And yet, in Britain 2026, was still at large to be a vehicular menace as well as a musical one. 

As he sentenced him, the judge noted the father-of-two's "genuine remorse" and letters of support including from his partner setting out how he had used his career in music to make a positive impact on his community.

How naive was that judge!