Twins involved in double stabbing at Meadowhall "extremely lucky injuries were not fatal"
“Everybody involved is extremely lucky these were not fatal injuries,” a Sheffield judge said as he sentenced three young men for their involvement in a Meadowhall brawl, two of whom were stabbed during the course of the fight.
Identical twin brothers Nehemiah and Zephaniah Gbekie were both stabbed by Mohammad Yusoof, who, in turn, suffered tendon damage to his hand, after violence unfolded in front of shocked members of the public at Meadowhall Shopping Centre.
While “flailing” the kitchen knife he brought to the shopping centre around, Yusoof stabbed Nehemiah to the back and Zephaniah to the neck, Sheffield Crown Court was told.
The blood loss caused by Zephaniah’s neck wound to his trachea was such that both Gbekie brothers initially believed he would die, they revealed in statements read to the court during a hearing held on August 19, 2025.
Both Gbekie brothers were rushed to Sheffield’s Northern General hospital in the wake of the brawl on January 2, 2024, prosecutor Kevin Jones said.
Zephaniah had to undergo emergency surgery after suffering the three millimetre slash wound to his trachea, while Nehemiah had to be given five stitches to repair the stab wound to his back, and is also believed to have suffered a broken rib.
Yusoof, who was aged 20 at the time of the stabbing, said he had to undergo surgery to repair the tendon damage to his hand, after being taken into custody for his part in the violence.
Despite the serious nature of the incident, and the injuries caused, each of the three defendants avoided a prison sentence.
Sentencing the three defendants, Judge Graham Robinson told them: “Everybody involved is extremely lucky these were not fatal injuries.
“That’s the danger with using knives - you never know where it’s going to end up. If that knife had nicked an artery that could have led to the victim bleeding out within minutes and no form of medical intervention could stop the inevitable extinction of life.”
Judge Robinson also pointed to the tragedy the court has seen through the recently concluded trial of Harvey Willgoose’s killer - who murdered the 15-year-old in a stabbing at their Sheffield school - as demonstrating the very present dangers of knife crime.
“Everyone in this city is aware of the tragedy of children at a city school, when a boy carrying a lethally dangerous weapon used it to stab a pupil who sadly died,” he said, adding that the “catastrophic” consequences that can follow when knives are used are the reasons the courts have to “take knife crime so seriously.”
Prosecutor Kevin Jones told the court that the Gbekie brothers, who attended court wearing matching suits, had both visited Meadowhall on the day of the incident with their respective girlfriends.
The court heard how Yusoof, of Barnsley Road, Sheffield, was in a relationship with Nehemiah’s ex-girlfriend at the time of the incident.
In their statements to the court, both Gbekie brothers claimed Yusoof had previously threatened to use violence on them, and had said he would enlist friends from London who carried guns.
Mr Jones said Nehemiah bumped into Yusoof by chance whilst inside a Meadowhall clothes shop, following which Yusoof told Nehemiah to meet him in an area outside the shop.
The Gbekie brothers, then aged 19, along with a third juvenile male, went to meet Yusoof, and violence was quickly meted out.
Describing the attack, Judge Robinson told the defendants: “All of you were in a public area of Meadowhall Shopping Center, in the upstairs gallery. What the video footage shows is the [juvenile male] advance upon Mr Yusoof and deliver a significant punch.
“You both, Mr Gbekie and Mr Gbekie, advance towards Mr Yusoof with aggressive intent. What happened next could not have entered your wildest imagination. Not only did Mr Yusoof decide to defend himself against three people but he brought a knife to the shopping centre.
“It was concealed on his person. He produced it and flailed his hand carrying the knife around, with the result being that you each suffered a stab wound.”
The Gbekie brothers - neither of whom were armed - admitted responding to the violence by punching Yusoof several times, and Judge Robinson described them as the initial “aggressors”.
The court heard how the Gbekie brothers, now aged 21, were initially treated as victims in the case, but were each charged with the criminal offence of affray, after CCTV of the incident was obtained by police.
Yusoof was initially taken into custody, before being charged with two counts of wounding - relating to the two stab wounds inflicted - one count of affray and one count of possessing a bladed article in a public place.
Each of the three defendants entered guilty pleas to the charges they faced, and each submitted a basis of plea stating they were acting in self-defence.
Mr Jones told the court that all three defendants had clean criminal records prior to the incident.
Defending Yusoof, Emma Handley referred Judge Robinson to a reference submitted to the court by one of Yusoof’s colleagues, and to his nomination for a Rotherham apprenticeship award.
She told the court that Yusoof, now aged 22, has caring responsibilities for his two-year-old son, who has recently been diagnosed with autism and 11-year-old brother.
Ms Handley suggested both they, and his mother - with whom he pays the mortgage on the family home - would be significantly disadvantaged should he be sent to custody.
Ms Handley said that while Yusoof’s decision to arm himself with a knife was concerning, the probation service is willing to work with him. She added that a non-custodial sentence would allow him to address his offending, while one of immediate imprisonment would result in him being forced to associate with seasoned criminals whilst in custody.
She also told the court Yusoof had spent around a month in custody on remand, along with 565 days on a qualifying curfew.
Referring to written submissions made to the court by barrister Mark Bates on behalf of the Gbekie brothers, Judge Robinson said he agreed with the suggestion they had already been punished due to the serious nature of their injuries.
Both Nehemiah, of Town Street, Canklow, Rotherham and Zephaniah Gbekie, of Oak Lea, Greasbrough, Rotherham, were sentenced to a two-year conditional discharge.
Judge Robinson sentenced Yusoof to 22 months in custody but said he felt able to suspend it for two years for a number of reasons including his previous good character, the work in the community that needs to be done and the fact he has remained out of trouble in the 19 months that have passed since the stabbing.
He also ordered Yusoof to complete a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement, along with 200 hours of unpaid work to “give back to the community.”
The juvenile male, who cannot be named, was charged and sentenced at Youth Court, where he received a referral order.