Mark Duggan’s funeral cortège joined by 1,000 mourners

Community leaders call for unity and peace at the funeral service of man whose fatal shooting by police sparked August’s riots Up to 1,000 mourners joined a cortège through the streets of Tottenham, north London, on Friday for the funeral of Mark Duggan, the man whose shooting by police sparked rioting and copycat disturbances in towns and cities across the country. They travelled by car and on foot from the home of Duggan’s parents to the Broadwater Farm estate where he grew up – stopping there for a short vigil and emotional church service. Then the extraordinary procession walked through the back streets for a graveside ceremony. A single voice sang I’ll Fly Away and white balloons were released into the air. Police mounted a “low-visibility” operation. There were uniformed officers helping with the traffic but thousands of others were held in contingency nearby. After weeks of speculation about Duggan and his character, and questions about the exact circumstances of his shooting, senior community figures joined the victim’s friends and relatives for what was portrayed by most as a rebuttal of the portrait drawn of him and of the community around Broadwater Farm. “We reject the stigma that has been placed on this family and this community,” Rev Nims Obunge told the congregation. “Let mothers not come and bury their children any more. Let fathers not come and weep over their children’s graves. We have been scarred, marginalised, stigmatised, but today we stand together. We say not any more. We shall stop this. We take the death of Mark to show that there is something wrong. We pray that his death will not be in vain, that we learn what we need to learn and that we have a future that is ours to hold on to.” Stafford Scott, a community leader, said the circumstances surrounding Duggan’s death had forced the community to unify. “We believe there is no justice, there is just us,” he said. “This is a community that is battle-weary. I have known four people in my life who have died in these circumstances. We will draw a sense of togetherness. If there is to be a memorial to Mark let it be that our young people come together and stick together.” The church service was held at the Pentecostal New Testament Church of God in Wood Green, a district also scarred by last month’s disturbances. Mourners heard a tribute from Duggan’s fiancee Semone Brown. He was, she said: “My first real love, we laughed together and cried together. We faced trials and tribulations together. We had our ups and our downs but I always loved him. He gave me four beautiful children.” There were emotional scenes as Duggan’s cousin Donna Martin began a eulogy. “I’m going to find this difficult,” she said. Mark would have said ‘Balance, balance,’ which means ‘Settle yourself’.” At that point she was overcome and seemed unable to continue. Sections of the congregation urged her on with Duggan’s own phrase, “balance, balance”. She said Duggan had a job at Stansted airport and recently submitted an application to become a fireman, “obviously thinking about how he could help others”. She said he had a strong, positive bond with local children. “He encouraged them to take part in lots of activities and would tell them were they went wrong and how to put it right next time. He was just a big kid himself.” Duggan, she said “was always seen as a peacemaker”. Her cousin had many enthusiasms, she said. “He enjoyed partying, dressed up to the nines. He loved his bling and ting. What a smile he had. It used to take over the whole of his face.” Martin said Duggan was en route in a cab to see his children and spoke to his fiancee at 4.30pm. He died less than two hours later. He was “asking if his dinner was ready. That was the last time he spoke to her.” The day began with friends and relatives assembling at the family home. They were met by Bishop Kwaku Frimpong-Manson, who performed the internment service. Among the relatives was his aunt Carole Duggan. “I was the first person to see him come into this world. Mark would have known that he isn’t Al Capone. He is just an average guy. He wouldn’t have tried to fire on police,” she said. Bishop Frimpong-Mason said he knew Mark from childhood. “He was like my son and I was angry when I read what was being said about him, because it was just wrong. I know some youths get in trouble. No one is perfect. But he was just a normal guy. I came to see the family and they said: ‘No one is talking to us about what happened to Mark’. Who would be happy to lose a child and find that no one is talking to you?” he said. As mourners prepared to set off from the house, the bishop called them to stand on the pavement beside the wooden carriage, which was drawn by four white horses with plumes. Around 60 did so. “We come to stretch our hands towards the casket and thank God for Mark’s life as he begins his heavenly journey.” He urged the mourners to stretch their arms towards the carriage as he prayed. Duggan’s mother Pam wept, supported by a relative. The cortège swelled at Broadwater Farm as people emerged from homes and offices. The horse-drawn carriage stopped near the block Duggan lived in as a child. Again mourners were implored to stretch their hands towards it. A few stepped forward to tap on the carriage. One hit the hardest. “He was a loveable rogue but we loved him,” he said. Among the mourners were the relatives of Cynthia Jarrett, whose death sparked the Broadwater Farm disturbances in 1985, Colin Roach, who died in Stoke Newington police station, north London, and Sean Rigg, who died while in the custody of police in Brixton, south London. Another there to “show solidarity” was Winston Silcott, who was wrongly imprisoned for the murder of PC Keith Blakelock during the 1985 riots. The IPCC is still investigating the 12

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