Christopher Kapessa inquest: Teen seen pushing boy into river

A teenager was seen pushing Christopher Kapessa into a river before he drowned, an inquest has heard

A teenager was seen pushing a boy into a river shortly before he drowned, an inquest has heard.

Christopher Kapessa, 13, died after the incident in the River Cynon in Fernhill, Rhondda Cynon Taf, in 2019.

The inquest heard another boy, then 14, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pushed Christopher into the water.

Christopher, who could not swim, immediately got into difficulty and other children jumped in to help but he could not be saved.

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Isabella Watts, 18, told South Wales Central Coroner's Court in Pontypridd that Christopher had taken off his shoes, T-shirt and glasses and was standing on a ledge, considering whether to jump.

Ms Watts, who witnessed the incident, said the boy who is accused of pushing Christopher into the water was standing behind him.

Christopher Kapessa drowned in the River Cynon on 1 July 2019

Tom Leeper, counsel to the inquest, asked Ms Watts: "How did Christopher end up in the water?"

"[The boy] pushed him... he went into the water, and he was fine for about 30 seconds, and then he started going up and down and waving his arms," she said.

The court heard that other children at the scene jumped into the water to try to save Christopher, including the boy accused of pushing him in.

David Hughes, representing the alleged pusher, suggested Ms Watts's attention had more focused on conversations with her friends, and the boy may have stumbled instead of pushing Christopher.

"He didn't stumble, he pushed him. He was standing still when he pushed him so it didn't look like a stumble at all," she replied.

On Monday, the inquest heard from one teenager who described seeing the boy push Christopher into the water with his hands.

"I had a clear view of what happened," the 17-year-old said.

"Everybody for a few seconds didn't know if he could swim or not and there wasn't a panic, and when people realised he couldn't swim people jumped in to try and help him.

"I think he was flailing and trying to keep himself above of the water."

The hearing continues.