The mother of a teenage schoolboy who drowned after allegedly being pushed into a river has described the moment she was taken to see his body.
13-year-old Christopher Kapessa, who could not swim, died after entering the River Cynon near Fernhill, Mountain Ash, in July 2019.
His mother, Alina Joseph, said she was first told that her son had "jumped off a bridge" and later that he had "slipped" before he drowned.
However, she claims evidence subsequently came to light to suggest Christopher was allegedly pushed into the river by a 14-year-old boy.
Speaking to the BBC Wales Investigates programme about the day that her son died, Ms Joseph said: " We had a knock on the door to say Christopher is missing and my daughter came upstairs screaming Christopher’s jumped off a bridge.
“I could hear the sound of the helicopter and I was like 'oh my gosh, what’s he gone and done'. It felt like seconds ago Christopher came and told me he’s going to play football and all of a sudden, helicopters.
"Why would he jump off a bridge? That was what I was thinking. He’s going to get a proper telling off.
"The police just shouted out Alina they’ve found Christopher, we need to go to the hospital. I came out of the house, the sky looked gloomy - looked like something is wrong - and we started to drive to Prince Charles (Hospital Merthyr Tydfil) and when they put on the sirens I said this is not good.
"I was walking in the direction of where there were all these cubicles and every step I took there were members of staff that had their heads bowed down, and there he was at the end of that hallway lying there cold with all this stuff in his mouth wrapped up like a baby.
"I was screaming Christopher. There was no response."
Following her son's death, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) told Ms Joseph that there was sufficient evidence to charge a 14-year-old boy with Christopher's manslaughter but it was not in the public interest to do so. The family is now fighting the decision in the High Court.
"You can do anything harsh to black people and get away with it.
"They've tried to disregard it as if Christopher's life has no value. You know, if that isn't racism, I don't know what is.
"I do believe that if Christopher was a white child and amongst 14 or however many children and those children were black, the investigation from the get-go to the very end would have been very different.
"The police would have done things differently, taken it seriously, they would have used so many different approaches to serve justice for that white child".
Responding to the decision not to prosecute by the CPS, she added: "What about Christopher's future? He had a good future ahead of him."
Initial investigations into the Mountain Ash Comprehensive pupil's death by South Wales Police concluded there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident.
However, following complaints made by Christopher's family, the case was picked up by the force's major crime investigation team, and a referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Although no one has been charged with an offence in relation to Christopher's death, Ms Joseph revealed last year that she received a letter from the CPS saying there was evidence that her son was pushed into the river by a 14-year-old boy.
Ms Joseph said the letter revealed that there was enough evidence to prosecute the boy for manslaughter, but the CPS concluded that there was no public interest in doing so. The teenager was described as being "mature and intelligent for his age" and having a "good school record" and there was no evidence that the boy had meant to harm Christopher after he was allegedly pushed into the river during a "foolish prank", the CPS said. Consideration had to be given to the impact that bringing a prosecution against him would have on his future, it added.
In 2020, Ms Joseph spoke about the day her son died and said she was told by a police officer to accept his death as a "tragic accident". She said she was made to feel like she was in the wrong after questioning the competence of the investigation, with officers only interviewing four of a potential 14 witnesses who were present when her son was allegedly pushed into the river.
Having moved to south Wales from London, where Christopher was born, in 2011, Ms Joseph said she and her children, aged between seven and 21, were known as "the only blacks in the village" and that her family was used to bullying and racial harassment. She added that Christopher had once been beaten up and "left in a pool of blood".
On Thursday, June 10, lawyers representing Christopher's family will ask the High Court to undertake a judicial review of the CPS' decision not to pursue a prosecution.
" Christopher's death can't just be in vain. As a mother, you don't just stop parenting once they've died. Christopher is not allowing me to just sit down there and give up. If it’s going to take 10 years or 15 years, I just have to deal with it I’ve got no choice," Ms Joseph said.
