Wednesday, March, 4 2026 - UK rapper Ghetts has been jailed for 12 years at the Old Bailey for k!lling a student in a hit-and-run while speeding and over the drink-drive limit.
The 41-year-old, whose real name is Justin Clarke-Samuel,
crashed his BMW into 20-year-old Yubin Tamang while driving in north-east
London on 18 October 2025.
Clarke-Samuel failed to stop his vehicle or call emergency
services after the collision, which left Tamang with “catastrophic injuries”.
He died in the hospital two days later.
The father-of-two admitted causing death by dangerous
driving .
Weeping in court, Tamang’s mother, Sharmila Tamang, said:
“My son had come for studies to this place, but because of somebody’s mistakes,
he has died at a very small age. Yubin was our only child.”
The court heard that Clarke-Samuel had been one-and-a-half
times over the legal drink-drive limit and was driving to his home in Woodford
at speeds of more than 70mph before the crash.
He had been repeatedly veering onto the wrong side of the
road and had failed to stop at six red traffic lights. The court was told that
he also caused damage after colliding with a motorcycle and a Mercedes.
At 11.33pm, Clarke-Samuel hit Tamang as he crossed Redbridge
Lane in Ilford, while he was going 67mph in a 30mph zone.
The rapper arrived at his home over 15 minutes later and was
arrested by police the next day. Upon arrival at his home, officers smelled
alcohol on Clarke-Samuel’s breath and saw that his black BMW had a smashed
windscreen and damage to the front bumper.
In a televised sentencing at the Old Bailey, Judge Mark
Lucraft also disqualified the rapper from driving for 17 years. He told
Clarke-Samuel that CCTV footage showed a “quite appalling litany of incidents”
leading up to the fatal collision, which was “simply shocking”.
Prosecutor Philip McGhee said: “Mr Tamang was still crossing
the road. He could do nothing to avoid a collision. The defendant’s BMW
ploughed into him.
“Mr Tamang was catapulted into the air before crashing down
on the roadway. He sustained catastrophic injuries.”
The court heard that the rapper was driving recklessly as he
believed someone had been following him, however, no evidence of this was found
on CCTV.
The rapper, who won best male act at the 2021 Mobo Awards
and received the Mobo pioneer award in 2024, has collaborated with Skepta,
Stormzy and Ed Sheeran. He also performed at Glastonbury a number of times,
including in 2024.
In mitigation, extracts of a letter Clarke-Samuel had
written apologising to Tamang’s family were read aloud.
He said: “I write from a place of extreme regret, shame, and
remorse. I am fully aware that there are no number of apologies that I can say
which will soothe the pain that the family and friends of Mr Tamang must feel.
“This may be the only chance that I get to apologise. It was
truly an unintentional act on my part and I am so sincerely sorry for the
suffering and emotional distress that I have caused.”
Clarke-Samuel has 12 previous convictions for 27 crimes from
the age of 16, which included robbery, aggravated vehicle taking and driving
offences.
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