A London man has been convicted of murdering his former business associate over a financial dispute, with detectives piecing together a 50‑mile journey and a trail of digital evidence to secure the verdict.
Ben Wazabanga, 23, of Fairfax Road, Bedford, was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday of killing Ayowale Aladejana, 26, in New Cross last year. The stabbing happened on 2 August 2025 at Aladejana’s home on Monson Road, near the junction with Kitto Road. Emergency services – including Metropolitan Police officers, the London Ambulance Service and the London Air Ambulance – treated the victim for a stab wound to the chest, but he died at the scene. A post‑mortem examination the following day confirmed the preliminary cause of death.
The murder was the culmination of a dispute over money linked to a car‑rental business called A2M2. Wazabanga and his on‑off partner, Ronique Belfon, 23, of Morinsbury Road, Bedford, had invested in the scheme. Prosecutors told the court that Wazabanga believed he was owed about £3,000 and that Belfon had financed two Mercedes for the business. Financial difficulties had mounted: Belfon was being pursued by bailiffs over unpaid fees on the cars, and her credit rating was allegedly damaged. Aladejana, a Nigerian national, had reportedly given away rental vehicles to another company around April 2025 and told his girlfriend he was “in too much debt”.
The investigation, led by Detective Chief Inspector Lucie Card of the Metropolitan Police, relied on painstaking forensic and digital work. Responding officers arriving at Monson Road quickly identified a car that had been parked outside Aladejana’s home and left shortly before police were called. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) data revealed that Wazabanga had driven from Bedford to New Cross – a journey of roughly 50 miles – to confront Aladejana.
That same car was later spotted by armed officers on Waterloo Bridge in central London. Wazabanga fled from the vehicle while still holding a knife but was swiftly apprehended and arrested. Detectives then carried out extensive analysis of CCTV footage and phone data to reconstruct the timeline leading up to the killing. Phone analysis confirmed the nature of Wazabanga’s grievance and that he had planned the confrontation. The court also heard that Ring doorbell footage captured the incident.
Wazabanga admitted habitually carrying a knife for the previous seven years and claimed he had acted in self‑defence. He was said to have remarked “it was him or me” after the stabbing. Belfon, who was also charged with murder, testified that she did not know Wazabanga was armed and believed the trip to London was for a “chat”. She stated that she saw Aladejana holding a knife during the confrontation. The prosecution alleged that the couple had “a real axe to grind” and that Belfon knew Wazabanga was carrying a weapon. The court was told that the two had travelled with young children aged one and two in the car.
Wazabanga was convicted of murder and possession of a knife. Sentencing will take place at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, 13 July 2026.
Detective Chief Inspector Lucie Card said: “This was a calculated and brutal attack, with Wazabanga driving a considerable distance in order to accost Aladejana at his home and cause him harm. Both the responding officers and subsequent detectives worked tirelessly, examining CCTV and phone data, to piece together the timeline that led to Aladejana’s death. This was a truly tragic and avoidable incident. We established that Wazabanga alone used the knife to kill Aladejana, and I hope that today’s conviction will bring Aladejana’s loved ones a measure of comfort as they continue to grieve his loss.”
