Christopher Kapessa: Who was the boy who never came home?

"He told me 'mum, I'm going out to play football'. I assumed he was on the pitch playing football and that he wasn't going to be too long."

It's two years since Alina Joseph's son Christopher Kapessa, 13, went out on a "lovely summer's day" and never returned.

He died after reportedly being pushed into the River Cynon near Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, in July 2019.

The authorities opted not to prosecute a 14-year-old boy involved, after determining it had been a foolish prank.

Christopher was one of seven children. His mother, Alina, moved with them to the Cynon Valley in 2012.

In their busy home there was typical sibling rivalry. He would wind them up and vice versa.

"He enjoyed the outdoors," Alina said. "He wanted to be outside, making friends.

"My fear was something would happen."

Single mother Alina said she worried for her children because the family had experienced numerous incidents of racism, such as name calling, graffiti and assaults.

She said it made Christopher angry, but it did not stop him making friends.

"Christopher was a little character," Alina said.

"There was never a dull moment when Christopher was around. He was so loving, clever, always very smart, very intelligent. He was full of too much energy."

When they moved to the Fernhill Estate in the spring of 2019, it meant he was nearer school and his football teammates, who were "constantly" knocking on the family's door asking for Christopher.

The last time she saw him, he was heading out and promised he would be back soon.

Instead, there was a knock at her door and his sister came in screaming.

They were told Christopher - who could not swim - had jumped off a bridge spanning the River Cynon.

Alina could hear the rescue helicopter overhead. The police and fire service searched the river.

Then there was the news he had been found.

Alina said: "We came out came out the house, the sky looked gloomy, like something is wrong.

"We started to drive to Prince Charles Hospital [in Merthyr Tydfil] and when they put on their sirens I said 'this is not good'."

She was shown to a waiting room but all she wanted was to see her son.

"I was walking in the direction where there was all these cubicles and every step I took there was a member of staff there had their heads bowed down there.

"And there he was at the end of that hallway, lying there, cold, with all this stuff in his mouth, wrapped up like a baby.

"I was screaming 'Christopher,' calling out his name. There was no response."

One of Christopher's best friends, Cobi, discovered what had happened on social media.

He did not go to the river with the other children that evening. Instead, he saw messages and praying emojis.

"It felt unreal. It still does," he said.

Cobi spoke at a memorial to mark the first anniversary of his death last summer.

He said: "He wasn't just a friend, he was more like family. He was an amazing footballer, he was always cheeky but in a good way.

"Christopher Kapessa was an amazing person and he didn't deserve this."

At their old training ground, Cobi remembers the lad with the cheesy smile, the big personality and a real passion for the game.

The team wears a constant reminder of Christopher on their shirt sleeves - CK21 - in a heart with wings. It was Christopher's squad number.

"We made sure no one else will have that number now - it's Chris's number," said Cobi.

Tributes poured in for Christopher, a huge comfort for his mother and their family.

But she said she has spent every day since her son's death questioning what she was told about exactly how he drowned.

It has meant putting her grief on hold and left his siblings struggling.

"You can see the younger one reminiscing," she said.

"You've got one on my other children who refuses to touch anything that belonged once to Christopher because the memories are just so painful. But every day we try our best to just carry on."

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has investigated South Wales Police's initial handling of Christopher's case and its report is due to be published after his inquest.

The CPS said it had carefully reviewed Christopher's case and reaffirmed its decision not to prosecute the teenage boy who pushed him into the water.

Alina began an online campaign, insisting she does not want revenge, just for the facts to be heard in front of a jury.

She said: "Christopher's death can't just be in vain. As a mother, you don't stop parenting once they have died.

"Christopher is not allowing me to just sit down and give up, so even if it takes 10 years, 15 years, I just have to deal with it. I have no choice."

On 1 July, his family will again lay flowers next to Christopher's memorial banner, near the site where he drowned.