Death of David Oluwale

David Oluwale (1930–1969) was a British Nigerian who drowned in the River Aire in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, in 1969. The events leading to his drowning have been described as "the physical and psychological destruction of a homeless Black man, whose brutal and systematic harassment was orchestrated by the Leeds City Police Force." Oluwale's death led to the first successful prosecution of British police officers for their involvement in the death of a Black person. The legacy of his life, experiences, and death has shaped discussions on systemic racism within British legal institutions, police brutality and practices, inequality, and mental health policy. He has inspired artworks, been the subject of several books and documentaries, and is commemorated by a blue plaque in Leeds.

David Oluwale

Date	April 1969 (1969-04)
Location	Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Cause	Drowning
Burial	Killingbeck Cemetery, Leeds
Accused	Inspector Geoffrey Ellerker Sergeant Kenneth Kitching
Charges	Manslaughter Perjury Grievous bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm
Verdict	Both cleared of manslaughter, perjury and GBH by direction of the judge. Both found guilty of ABH.
Convictions	Ellerker: Three years' imprisonment Kitching: 27 months' imprisonment

Blue plaque for David Oluwale (Leeds Civic Trust)

Biography

Oluwale was born in Lagos, Nigeria, around 1930. In August 1949, he hid on board the SS Temple Bar, a cargo ship bound for Hull, England. When the ship docked in Hull on 3 September 1949 he was handed over to the authorities. Although, under the British Nationality Act 1948, Oluwale was considered a British subject rather than an illegal immigrant, he was charged as a stowaway under the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vi. c. 60). He was sentenced to 28 days' imprisonment, which he served at Armley Gaol in Leeds and Northallerton Prison in Northallerton.

Following his release from prison on 3 October 1949, Oluwale—who had served an apprenticeship as a tailor in Nigeria—headed to Leeds where there was a large textile and clothing industry.

In 1953, Oluwale was charged with disorderly conduct and assault following a dispute over the bill at the King Edward Hotel in Leeds City Centre. He served a 28-day sentence. While in prison, he reportedly suffered from hallucinations, possibly due to damage from a truncheon blow sustained during his arrest. He was subsequently transferred to Menston Asylum in Leeds (later known as High Royds Hospital, now closed), where he spent the next eight years. During this time, he was treated with a variety of techniques, including, allegedly, electroconvulsive therapy and various medications, although hospital records have since been lost.

After his release, Oluwale struggled to maintain both employment and stable housing, quickly becoming homeless. Friends described him as a shadow of his former self, noting that he had lost all confidence. As a Black immigrant in 1960s Britain, his options for lodging and employment were severely limited (the Race Relations Act, which prohibited discrimination in these areas, did not receive royal assent until October 1968).

During this period, he moved between London and Sheffield but primarily lived in Leeds. He frequently encountered trouble with the Leeds police, whom he accused of harassment. In late 1965, he was readmitted to High Royds Hospital, where he spent another two years. After his release, he once again found himself homeless and living on the streets.

Death, repercussions, and aftermath

The exact sequence of events leading to Oluwale's entry into the river—whether he was deliberately thrown, chased, or fell accidentally—has never been officially established. However, two independent witnesses testified that they saw uniformed police officers pursuing a man who could have been Oluwale near the river on the night he is believed to have drowned.

Oluwale's body was recovered from the section of the river between Knostrop Weir and Skelton Grange Power Station on 4 May 1969. The death was not initially treated as suspicious by the police or the coroner. In October 1970, Police Cadet Gary Galvin, a whistleblower within the Leeds City Police, revealed that Oluwale had been subjected to serious and sustained mistreatment by senior officers at Milgarth Police Station in Leeds. This led to an investigation, conducted by Chief Superintendent John Perkins of London's Scotland Yard. The investigation uncovered that Oluwale had endured "systemic, varied, and brutal" violence at the hands of at least two officers, often in the presence of other officers who made no effort to intervene."

Leeds City Police enquiry

Contemporary police records indicate that in 1968, Oluwale first had recorded contact with Sergeant Kenneth Kitching and Inspector Geoffrey Ellerker in Leeds. The actions of these two officers are alleged to have contributed to Oluwale's death, although several other officers were also involved in harassing him during this period.

During the subsequent inquiry and manslaughter/assault trial against Kitching and Ellerker, it was reported that they routinely beat Oluwale, often kicking him in the groin and, on one occasion, urinating on him. They frequently forced him to bow on his hands and knees, kicking his arms away so his head would hit the pavement—a practice they referred to as "penance." They also subjected him to verbal abuse, calling him a "lame darkie." On several occasions, they drove him out of Leeds in police vehicles, abandoning him on the outskirts in the early morning hours with the intention of forcing him to leave the city and not return. Despite this, Oluwale considered Leeds his home and made his way back each time.

In the early hours of 17 April 1969, Kitching found Oluwale sleeping in a shop doorway and summoned Ellerker. Both officers then assaulted Oluwale with their truncheons. The last reported sighting of Oluwale was of him fleeing from the officers towards the River Aire, where his body was discovered two weeks later. He was buried in a pauper's grave, and no suspicious circumstances were noted in the official account of his death at the time.

Knostrop Weir

Scotland Yard enquiry

In 1970, a young police cadet named Gary Galvin reported to a senior officer that he had heard gossip from colleagues about the severe way Kitching and Ellerker had treated Oluwale. An enquiry was launched, carried out by Scotland Yard, and sufficient evidence was gathered to prompt manslaughter, perjury and grievous bodily harm (GBH) charges being brought against Kitching and Ellerker in 1971.

Manslaughter trial

In November 1971, former Inspector Geoffrey Ellerker—who was already serving a prison sentence for his role in covering up the death of a 69-year-old woman—and Sergeant Kenneth Kitching stood trial for the manslaughter of Oluwale. The trial attracted national media attention, but justice and civil rights campaigners condemned it as a whitewash. The proceedings presented a deliberately negative portrayal of Oluwale, depicting him as "a wild animal" and "a menace to society," while failing to call witnesses whose testimonies contradicted this narrative. During the trial, Judge Mr. Justice Hinchcliffe—who at one point described Oluwale as "a dirty, filthy, violent vagrant"—directed the jury to acquit the defendants of manslaughter, perjury, and assaults occasioning grievous bodily harm. The jury did find the defendants guilty of four assaults that occurred between August 1968 and February 1969. Ellerker was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, while Kitching received a 27-month sentence.

The inquiry and trial revealed a pattern of physical abuse, predominantly by Kitching and Ellerker. It was discovered that they had a particular interest in Oluwale, requesting to handle incidents involving him personally. They specifically _targeted him in the early hours of the morning when he was often found sleeping in shop doorways. Furthermore, racist terms appeared in paperwork related to Oluwale, such as the use of the term "wog" in the nationality field. Despite this evidence of racism, the trial focused solely on police brutality and did not address the issue of racism. Several witnesses described Oluwale as dangerous, and the trial judge echoed this characterization by referring to him as a "dirty, filthy, violent vagrant." This portrayal contrasted sharply with earlier witness statements, including those from Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Tony Harney, who had described Oluwale as unassuming and even cheerful. These statements were not included in the trial.

On the directions of the judge, manslaughter charges were dropped during the trial. Ellerker was found guilty of three assaults against Oluwale and Kitching of two assaults. They were found not guilty of causing GBH. Ellerker was sentenced to three years in prison, and Kitching received 27 months.

Cultural legacy and memorials

Hibiscus Rising by Yinka Shonibare (2023)

Caryl Philips unveiling a Leeds Civic Trust Blue Plaque to David Oluwale

David Oluwale bridge

Literature

Oluwale's story caused a national scandal. As well as intensive coverage of the trial of Ellerker and Kitching in the local press, national newspapers took a close interest. Ron Phillips published a long article on the case in the monthly journal "Race Today" in January 1972. This reportage prompted the London-based artist Rasheed Araeen to construct his work "For Oluwale" between the years of 1972 and 1975. The writer Jeremy Sandford's play "Smiling David" was broadcast by the BBC in 1972 and published in 1974. The poet Linton Kwesi Johnson included the Oluwale case in his 1972 poem "night of the Head' and in 'Time Come', included in his 1979 album "Forces of Victory". In 1985, Rasheed Araeen produced an updated version of his artwork "For Oluwale" (source: Max Farrar (2018), 'David Oluwale: making his memory and debating his martyrdom', Chapter 9 in Quentin Outram and Keith Laybourn (eds) (2018) Secular Martyrdom in Britain and Ireland — From Peterloo to the Present, London: Palgrave.)

Despite these efforts, the story was all but forgotten until police paperwork detailing the case was declassified under the thirty-year rule. This was used by Kester Aspden to write the book Nationality: Wog, The Hounding of David Oluwale, published in 2007, which returned the story to the public eye.

In the same year, Caryl Phillips published "Foreigners – Three English Lives"; his third life (and death) was that of David Oluwale. At an event at Leeds Metropolitan University in 2008, Phillips, who had grown up in Leeds, suggested that there should be a memorial to David Oluwale in the city. This prompted the formation of a committee at the university which became the charity called the David Oluwale Memorial Association (DOMA) in 2012.

The Remembering Oluwale anthology was published by DOMA in 2016 and its many varied entries cover "the issues that David endured: mental health distress, incarceration, police brutality, destitution and homelessness—all linked to his status as a migrant from Nigeria, a British citizen who happened to be black". The 26 long-listed entries are in the book, along with already published work by Caryl Phillips, Kester Aspden, Ian Duhig, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Zodwa Nyoni, Sai Murray and The Baggage Handlers".

Theatre

Aspden's book has been adapted by Oladipo Agboluaje into a stage play, first performed at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in February 2009, which critics described as "a richly emotional play which proves its point without coming across like it has a point to prove".

In 2018, a production named Freeman by the Strictly Arts Theatre was put on at the Pleasance Theatre in London. It was a play about systematic racism within legal institutions, and how many people have suffered from police brutality. David Oluwale was one of the characters.

Exhibitions

Oluwale's story is also the subject of a film installation by Corinne Silva, entitled Wandering Abroad, which premiered at Leeds Art Gallery in 2009.

In 2019, the David Oluwale Memorial Association led a series of events to mark the 50th anniversary of his death. Events included an exhibition at The Tetley, readings by Linton Kwesi Johnson and Jackie Kay and a vigil at his graveside in Killingbeck Cemetery. In September 2022 the Tetley also hosted the exhibition of the maquette for Hibiscus Rising, a public sculpture by Yinka Shonibare commissioned by DOMA and LEEDS 2023.

Blue plaque

On 25 April 2022 a blue plaque commemorating Oluwale was unveiled on Leeds Bridge by Leeds Civic Trust and the David Oluwale Memorial Association. The same evening the plaque was stolen from the bridge; West Yorkshire Police began an investigation, which treated the theft as a hate crime. The plaque was replaced but was vandalised the same night; another, temporary, plaque was installed.

A "spate of racist graffiti" appeared on the bridge and at the civic trust offices. The blue plaque was re-installed on 23 October 2022.

David Oluwale Bridge

In January 2023 a new bridge over the River Aire, crossing from Sovereign Street to Water Lane, and known as the David Oluwale Bridge, was opened by Leeds City Council.

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Aspden, Kester (2008). The Hounding of David Oluwale. London: Vintage. ISBN 978-0-099-50617-1.
• Phillips, Ron (January 1972). "The Death of One Lame Darkie". Race Today. Institute of Race Relations: 16–18.
• Sandford, Jeremy (1974). Smiling David: The Story of David Oluwale. London: Calder & Boyars. ISBN 0-7145-1049-1.
• Sim, Joe (January 2010). "The Hounding of David Oluwale by K. Aspden". The British Journal of Criminology. 50 (1): 158–161. doi:10.1093/bjc/azp073.

Further reading

• Farrar, Max (2016). "Why does a Nigerian Vagrant who drowned in Leeds, England, in 1969 Matter? Remembering David Oluwale". Leeds African Studies Bulletin (78): 172–185 – via University of Leeds.
• Phillips, Caryl (2007). Foreigners: Three English Lives. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-1-400-04397-2.
• Bradley, S. J. (2016). Remembering Oluwale: An Anthology. Valley Press. ISBN 9781908853714.
• Max Farrar (2018) 'David Oluwale: making his memory and debating his martyrdom', Chapter 9 in Quentin Outram and Keith Laybourn (eds) (2018) Secular Martyrdom in Britain and Ireland — From Peterloo to the Present, London: Palgrave.

External links

• David Oluwale Memorial Association