Stabbing victim had so much to live for, says dad

A teenage boy who was stabbed to death was looking forward to prom and had an appointment about his dream job scheduled, his father has said.

Shayne Hambakachere, 16, was found with stab wounds in London Road in Chippenham, Wiltshire, on Saturday and later died at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

His father Emmanuel Hambakachere told the BBC his son "had so much" to look forward to, including his 17th birthday in June and his fledging career as a bricklayer.

A 15-year-old boy has been charged with Shayne's murder and is next due to appear at Bristol Crown Court on Friday.

Emmanuel said Shayne was very ambitious and had "made up his mind" to become a bricklayer.

"He had one of his teachers guiding him at school and had an appointment at Wiltshire College on Sunday. I was going to take him there so he could pursue his goals.

"He was becoming, more or less, a young man."

He said Shayne was a keen sportsman who loved going to the gym, and added that the family had spent time together talking about how the teenager would look on prom day.

"He was not somebody who was very interested in formal clothing," Emmanuel said. "If he had to put on something formal, he couldn't wait to get him off it."

He said the family was also looking forward to Shayne's 17th birthday in June.

Emmanuel said Shayne had not visited his extended family in Zimbabwe in several years and so they knew him mostly through video calls and photographs.

"The loving family back at home will remain with a big scar," he added.

Shayne's family, who have been living in Wiltshire for three years and moved to Chippenham in April last year, thanked people in the town for their support.

"The community has contributed so much," Emmanuel said. "Especially the school, everything they have done and all the parents who have come to bring flowers. It just shows there is so much love in the community."

Hardenhuish School in Chippenham, where Shayne was a pupil, said flowers and tributes would be added to a tree in its grounds in memory of the teenager.

Emmanuel said Shayne's siblings and cousins in England "looked up to him" for guidance and described the "unbearable" future the family would now have to navigate without Shayne.

He added that, in recent years, the pair's own relationship had progressed beyond a traditional father-and-son bond to become a genuine friendship.

"I can't say that I am strong at the moment," Emmanuel said. "The only thing which is keeping me going is just trying to remember all the good things, and all the things that me and my son were planning.

"I don't know, really, what is going to happen moving forward."

A 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Swindon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday charged with the murder of Shayne.

He was remanded into a youth detention centre and will appear at Bristol Crown Court on Friday.

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