Man cleared of manslaughter over death at Leeds student party

A jury at Leeds Crown Court took just over an hour to reach a unanimous verdict upon Daanish Hussain over the death of Mwila Chitalu.

Mr Chitalu, 30, died of head injuries after being punched once and hitting his head on the ground during the incident outside the property on Ash Grove, Hyde Park, on November 3 2013.

Mr Hussain, of St Enoch Road, Bradford, gave evidence at the trial in which he described how he had acted in self defence during a confrontation between the two men when Mr Mr Chitalu refused to leave the party when asked by the students who lived there.

Mr Hussain described hitting Mr Chitalu once to the jaw before he fell backwards and hit his head on the ground.

The prosecution claimed Mr Hussain was “blind with fury” when he knocked out Mr Chitalu and then dragged him across the road before kicking him once to the body.

Asked by his barrister, Richard Wright, QC, why he moved Mr Chitalu as he was unconscious, Mr Hussain said: “If he regained consciousness within a short amount of time he is still in the street at the back of the house. I just wanted to get him away from the scene.”

Mr Wright said: “Why did you kick him?”

He replied: “I will have to put it down to the heat of the moment and the confusion and my lack of understanding of the situation. That is all I can think of.”

Mr Wright said: “Were you angry when you kicked him.”

Mr Hussain replied: “To a degree yes.”