Milton Keynes man killed by friend with one punch

Ali Dahir and Abdifatah Ali Wadad Abdillahi had been talking and drinking whisky in a flat in Milton Keynes

A man who killed a friend with a single punch after a drunken argument has been jailed for his manslaughter.

Ali Dahir, 35, struck Abdifatah Ali Wadad Abdillahi outside a flat in Milton Keynes, causing a fatal brain injury.

A Luton Crown Court jury convicted Dahir after a 13-day trial and he was jailed for seven and a half years.

Judge Michael Simon said the victim was aged 35 when his life was "tragically cut short".

He added: "Nothing the court says or does can mend the broken hearts of his family - his wife and his daughter, who was born five months after his death."

Abdifatah Ali Wadad Abdillahi was found unresponsive on a pavement

Dahir, of Linton Road, Barking, east London, said he knew Mr Abdillahi well and they were friends.

"We used to play football together - once or twice a week on Thursdays and Sunday evenings. We both supported Arsenal," he said.

They would occasionally have arguments about football, he said, but these were never serious and would end with laughter and a hug.

Upon learning of his friend's death, he said: "I was gutted. My friend had passed away. I was really devastated."

'Quite a lot of force'

On the night of 10 July 2022 the two had been drinking at a gathering in a flat on Towan Avenue on Milton Keynes' Fishermead estate.

Dahir said he drank two pints in a pub while watching the Wimbledon men's final with a friend before they bought half a gram of cocaine and went to the flat.

At the gathering he and Mr Abdillahi argued, as they normally did when drinking, according to others.

The argument stopped and they hugged, then left the flat shortly before midnight to buy more alcohol.

Prosecutor Will Noble said: "The argument between the two men restarted outside the flat and Ali Dahir struck him [Mr Abdillahi] and knocked him to the ground."

Dahir told the jury: "It was quite a lot of force. I turned around and Abdi started to move towards me.

"I thought he was going to strike me. I threw a punch and it connected."

He said he thought his friend would get up, and so drove to a petrol station, leaving him on the ground.

The victim had joined a small gathering at a second-floor flat in Towan Avenue that night

Dahir was contacted on his mobile phone and returned, taking Mr Abdillahi to hospital in the van, but his friend was unconscious and had no pulse.

His death was confirmed at 05:05 BST. A pathologist found the fatal injury was caused by a heavy punch to the right side of the upper neck or jaw area.

The police tried to contact Dahir and went to see his younger brother, Ahmed, who lied that he had not seen him for a few days.

Ahmed, 34, of Tolcarne Avenue, Fishermead, Milton Keynes, was convicted of assisting an offender and perverting the course of justice and jailed for three years.