Mohammed Rafaqit Kayani: Two jailed for temple stab murder

Two men have been given life sentences for stabbing a man to death with a machete outside a Hindu temple.

Mohammed Rafaqit Kayani, 24, from Slough, was found seriously injured in the car park of Slough Hindu Temple in August 2022.

Hassan Al-Kubanji, 22, of Pimlico, London, and drug dealer Riaz Miah, 21, of no fixed address, were found guilty of murder following a trial last month.

Reading Crown Court heard they inflicted "multiple, serious wounds".

Miah was described in court as carrying out "serious criminality" in running a drugs line in Slough, while Al-Kubanji was on licence at the time of the attack, following a 30-month sentence for supplying Class A drugs.

The court heard the pair had no previous connection with the victim, but there had earlier been a confrontation between them in the Concorde Way children's playground on 30 August at which Miah had a machete.

Mr Kayani had been wearing a facemask and was "in all probability" also armed with a machete, the court heard.

He ran from the playground before being attacked by Miah and Al-Kubanji outside the nearby temple. He died later in hospital.

During the trial they had claimed to have been acting in self defence.

Passing sentence, Her Honour Judge Heather Norton said Miah and Al-Kubanji had acted jointly to "pursue, catch, attack and kill" Mr Kayani.

She said the pair used "severe force" to inflict injuries, before "leaving him dying in the car park".

Miah previously pleaded guilty to supplying heroin and cocaine as well as possessing a blade in public.

He was ordered to spend at least 24 years in jail before being considered for parole.

Al-Kubanji, of Peabody Avenue in London, was ordered to spend at least 23 years in custody for the murder.

In a statement released after his death, Mr Kayani's wife described him as "a loving son, caring brother, selfless friend and proud Muslim man".

She said he was "a truly indescribable husband, a proud loving family member of the Kayani family as well as flying through his career at Virgin Atlantic always looking dashing as ever, beaming with pride in his uniform".

His family added: "If you knew Rafaqit, you knew that there was no literature that could possibly describe the beauty of his character to a justly degree. However, his enormous heart is one place to begin with."

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