Man killed after business arrangement 'went sour'

A court has heard how a "business arrangement gone sour" led to the fatal stabbing of a 26‑year‑old man, after a couple travelled 50 miles with two young children in their car to confront him.

Ben Wazabanga, 24, and Ronique Belfon, 23, are accused of murdering Ayowale Aladejana outside his home in August 2025 after driving to New Cross in south-east London from Bedford.

Southwark Crown Court was told how Wazabanga stabbed Aladejana once in the chest with a knife he had brought to the scene.

Prosecutor James Brown KC said it was believed the pair did not set out to kill Aladejana, but wanted to "have it out with [him] about the grievance they had against him". Both defendants deny murder.

Jurors heard how the couple believed Aladejana owed them money after the collapse of a car rental business they had invested in earlier that year.

The scheme was set up by Aladejana, with Wazabanga contributing cash for repairs and Belfon buying two Mercedes vehicles on finance for rental use.

The court was told that Aladejana was supposed to pay off the finance arrangements for the cars with money he took from renters but he was accused of missing payments and sending Belfon into debt.

Aladejana later transferred the vehicles to another rental company.

The prosecution said that on the day of the killing, Belfon received Aladejana's postcode in a WhatsApp message from a man called Edric Kubie.

After looking it up on Google Maps, she is said to have driven "almost immediately" to south-east London with Wazabanga, knowing he was armed with a knife.

CCTV footage showed Belfon's car circling the area before parking outside Aladejana's home on Monson Road.

Wazabanga then crossed the road to confront him.

Brown told the court there was "the briefest of scuffles" before the defendant "stabbed him (Aladejana) in the chest with his right hand".

"After the stabbing, Miss Belfon drove Wazabanga away from the scene, pausing only briefly to allow him to run back and recover his mobile phone," the prosecutor said.

"Both the defendants, the Crown suggests, had a real axe to grind against Mr Aladejana – they believed he owed them money in a business arrangement gone sour."

The couple, who the court heard fled without calling emergency services, were arrested later that night near Waterloo Bridge in central London.

The trial continues.

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