*WARNING OF OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE

 

“Only cure for a c*** who is persistent is death and I am going to give them that.”

Hakeem Kigundu, 32, recorded these shocking words on his mobile phone before setting fire to a block of flats in Reading, killing two people, on December 15.

The murderer was brought before a judge at Reading Crown Court today (October 6) to learn of his fate in a two-day sentencing, having pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, two counts of grievous bodily harm and one count of arson with intent to endanger life.

The court heard how Kigundu was being evicted at the time after a dispute with a neighbour, and admitted after the fire that his anger was fueled by losing his job.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC described how Kigundu bought a V for Vendetta mask on Ebay and 50 litres of petrol from Reading garages and lit a fire in the middle of the night to 'cause the maximum amount of death, harm and destruction'.

But before killing Richard Burgess and Neil Morris and destroying the homes of numerous residents, the former BT fibre engineer recorded a chilling monologue on his mobile.

It said: “I have been walking the path of enlightenment, I chose to ignore the bad. Focus on balance. I am not doing that anymore.

“Now all I seek is just inner peace before I die, I want to die with a smile on my face and I shall do so.

“All the actions I am about to take are warranted believe me. They all lead to this for a c*** who’s persistent. Only cure for a c*** who is persistent is death and I am going to give them that.”

The court was told how he ignited the blaze from his own flat, number 77, on December 15, which ripped through the timber and plasterboard frame of Rowe Court.

“[Richard Burgess and Neil Morris] were unable to escape the overwhelming effects of the fire, the smoke and the flames. Others were left with no option but to jump from the building to save themselves,” said the prosecutor.

“Countless people were harmed and lost all of their possession in the blaze.”

The prosecution said: “This was an intended act of mass murder.”

Among those injured, Laura Wiggins suffered a fractured arm, pelvis and ribs, punctured lung and injured kidney, and Joel Richards suffered third-degree burns.

Mr Richards, who risked his life to help rescue two other people before jumping from a second-floor window, said he saw Kigundu laughing from his car parked outside as the building burned.

The bus driver, who suffered burns to his hands, head and face and has been receiving therapy for PTSD, told the court: “On December 15, my life changed forever.

“At 3am, what happened was terrorism, that’s how I’d describe it. I woke to hear my neighbour Paul shouting: ‘This guy has just set the building on fire’.

“He [Kigundu] started laughing, that’s what got me.”

Kigundu drove from Rowe Court to Reading Police Station and turned himself in, describing his anger at 'everything'.

“I was going to stay in there and burn as well. But I came down and this guy came to spoke to me and I got p*ssed off and then I changed my mind,” he had said in a phone conversation with police.

In a police interview, he stated that losing his job around the same time had been the main event that fueled his anger, the court heard.

The prosecution revealed how the arsonist had been evicted from flat 77 in Rowe Court the day before the fire, following a dispute with a neighbour.

On November 28, he purchased two 20 litre jerry cans on Ebay. Two days after recording the voice note, December 11, he hired a car and filled the cans at BP Garage in Oxford Road and Shell in Basingstoke Road, the prosecution told the court.

the court heard how in the remaining days before the devastating fire, Kigundu bought a sledgehammer and protective goggles from Wickes, a lighter from B&M and three large containers of vegetable oil from Morrisons.

He told police he didn’t think of the consequences and that he thought people could still get out through the back doors or by a window, and that he didn’t intend to harm or kill anyone other than himself.

Kigundu created an email address burnthemall2021 but denied it related to Rowe Court, stating in a police interview on December 16: “Just the world, burn the world, burn me, burn them, burn everything.”

The sentencing will continue tomorrow (October 7), when the defence will address the court.