The father of a teenage victim of knife crime in London has been awarded a top honour at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards. Dr Mark Prince has campaigned tirelessly since losing Kiyan at the age of just 15
Dr Mark Prince’s life was shattered when his teenage son was knifed to death.
Kiyan, 15, played academy football for Championship team QPR and had been breaking up a fight outside his school in London when he was fatally attacked.
Former boxer Mark, a WBO and IBF Inter-continental champion, threw himself into supporting families going through the same ordeal – and worked tirelessly to channel young people into creating their best lives. Now, the inspirational campaigner has been awarded a BBC Sports Personality of the Year award to recognised his incredible efforts with the Kiyan Prince Foundation.
The Helen Rollason accolade recognises outstanding work in the face of adversity and there couldn’t be a more fitting recipient.
Back in May 2016, budding footballer Kiyan was knifed yards from the school gates at the London Academy in Edgeware, North West London. He was killed by fellow pupil Hannad Hasan, then 16, after he intervened in a tussle between him and a pal.
As he lay bleeding to death, the stabbed schoolboy told friends: “If these are my last words, tell my mum I love her”. Kiyan’s mum Tracy Cumberbatch rushed to the scene but arrived after her son had been taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“He must have realised how serious his injuries were and wanted her to know how he felt,” a friend told the Mirror at the time. “He really loved his family and he respected and loved his mum and his sister.
“He was quite shy and didn’t have a girlfriend but all the girls fancied him. Unlike a lot of boys round here he was always polite and respectful to girls. He never harmed anyone and didn’t get into any trouble and he didn’t deserve this. I hope whoever did this gets what’s coming to him.”
The killer of the talented striker, who had recently had his academy contract extended with QPR with a view to becoming a professional with the club, was later sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to serve a minimum of 13 years behind bars. The prisoner went onto be given a further jail sentence for repeatedly exposing himself to prison staff inside, with the parole board ruling in February 2022 that he was not safe to be freed.
“After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody and the other evidence presented at the hearing, the panel was not satisfied that Mr Hasan was suitable for release,” a report read, adding that “concerns remained about inappropriate behaviour towards staff”.
The budding footballer’s father set up the foundation in his son’s name in 2008 and was later awarded an OBE for his Services to Tackling Knife and Gang Crime in London, The Children’s Champion Award from former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and an Honorary Doctorate from Excel University.
