Ex-gangster now fights knife crime as a pastor at 22 after being stabbed by a gang rival
STABBED three times by a gang rival and with blood pumping out of him, Enrique Uwadiae prayed to God: “If you save me, I will serve you.”
Five years on, the 22-year-old is a pastor dedicated to solving London’s knife crime epidemic.
Pastor Enrique preaches at SPAC Nation, a “young dynamic church” which sees more than 20 ministers inspiring 2,000 young people from 17 communities at pop-up services around London.
Last week he also spoke at a Be The Change meeting, sponsored by The Sun on Sunday as part of its Beat The Blades campaign.
Named after the Mahatma Gandhi quote “Be the change”, the meeting in Deptford, South East London, also heard from people as young as 13 affected by gang culture as they debated topics including stop and search and armed policing.
Enrique, who grew up on the tough Crawford Estate, in South East London, said: “I used to be violent because of the way I’d grown up and what I’d seen on the road.
“Poverty brings anger and leads to a gang lifestyle. Aged 15 I was arrested for double attempted murder after a gang clash, though the charges were later dropped.
“But everything changed for me in November 2013, when I was 17, and I was stabbed in the arm, back and femoral artery. I collapsed in a pool of blood and thought my life was over.
“Before I was rushed to hospital, I remember praying to God.
“I heard about a church called SPAC Nation, whose leader was taking young boys involved in gang crime and welcoming them. So I joined.”
The church, founded by Tobi Adegboyega, the Nigerian-born cousin of Star Wars actor John Boyega, actively takes to the streets looking for gang members to reform.
By its own figures, 55 per cent of the congregation have been involved in crime.
Weapons and drugs are regularly given up on the altar, and drill music artists wearing balaclavas perform during services.
The church has been criticised for encouraging members to flaunt their wealth to make it look glamorous to the gang members it wants to attract.
But founder Tobi argues the culture is inspirational for young people lacking in hope. Pastor Enrique said: “Recently, two rival gang leaders came to a service.
“There was so much hatred in their eyes, I thought they were going to kill one another but they ended up hugging it out.”
Against this backdrop, The Sun on Sunday has launched its Beat The Blades campaign, which backed the Be The Change meeting run by Enrique and youth leaders Ray Lewis and Carol Murraine, from the Eastside Young Leaders Academy.
Enrique told the audience there: “You guys have the solution. The blood of young people has been spilling across the streets of London.
"I am speaking from a place of passion. We can bring a change in our society.”
Youth worker Carol added: “There is so much wisdom in this space. We know we can’t afford to have any more bloodshed and after tonight, we also know we have the answers.”
As the debate got underway, a woman in her 20s said: “Increasing stop and search will not reduce crime.
“People are carrying knives to protect themselves. Even if they get stopped and they get arrested and go to a cell, tomorrow is another day.
“Carrying a knife is about matching the person who is after you.”
A teenage boy from one crime-ridden estate said: “You become paranoid and feel targeted and attacked when you’ve been stop and searched multiple times.
“The real criminals never get found in stop and search because they just get smarter — and the innocent people get angrier.”
A male youth worker said: “When a crime is committed in the community, the community always has the answers. I live in Croydon but the police are not from my area.
“They are bussed in from Essex, so they are not living our lives and understanding our problems.”
Another man in his late teens said: “Where I had built relationships with officers, I wouldn’t commit certain crimes out of respect for them.
"But now we call police ‘pigs’ because we don’t even class them as humans.”
In response to Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick’s proposal for armed patrols to tackle London gangs, one smartly dressed young man said: “It will make carrying a gun a normal thing.
“Don’t be surprised if armed policing results in 14-year-olds pulling out guns. It will make young men more aggressive. Do we want to follow America?”
A man next to him added: “Black boys are not intimidated by police. It’s different now. We’ve adapted. Weapons won’t make a difference.”
As the debate drew to a close before the next proposed meeting in January, a woman in her early 20s said: “The people in power need to be more relatable. Theresa May, what has she got in common with me?
“All the people in power have gone to private schools and had good lives. What do they have in common with us?
"We need to see some people like us in power, making the right decisions for us.
“We need good mentors, people who have been through what we’re living and found a better way.
“My two brothers are in jail because the only mentors they ever had were each other.
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“I go to visit them and they beg me, ‘Help us find a way out’.”
Pastor Enrique managed to find his way out — and now he is determined to help others do the same.
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