Five-year-old Malika was described in the inquest as ‘funny, sweet and kind’

A FATHER whose daughter died after falling into a canal said his family’s “hearts are broken” after a coroner’s inquest found the railings which she fell through to be unsafe.

Malika Hibu, five, died in February after drowning in a stretch of the Regent’s Canal next to Crest Buildings in Wharf Road, Angel, where she lived.

Her father, Mohammed, told the Tribune following the hearing at St Pancras Coroner’s Court this week: “My daughter’s death could have been prevented easily, and this is hard for us to think about.”

The inquest heard there was confusion over who was ­responsible for safety at the water’s edge, but that the Peabody housing association, which runs the estate, should have assessed the risks and installed a safety barrier.

While the death was an ­accident, two “prevention of future deaths” reports were issued by coroner Mary Hassell: one to Islington Council calling on it to advise the government or appropriate authority on how dangers should be considered when approving new developments – the recently-built estate was given planning approval in 2015 – and another to the housing association urging it to review the risks at its properties.

Mr Hibu said: “If they had listened to everything that had happened and how residents had complained, if Peabody had listened to everyone, my daughter’s death would have been prevented. It hurts so much, our hearts are so broken. I wish people knew Malika before, how she was so joyful, how she was always smiling.”

He added: “I was happy that the inquest was presented and at least we now know who was responsible, but at the same time, me and my family are very disappointed for the landlord not taking responsibility for the death of my daughter. Still we are going to fight for full justice.”

Mohammed Hibu, pictured with his wife Huria, said ‘we are going to fight for full justice’

Ms Hassell told the court on Wednesday this week: “The housing association was aware of an unsafe situation but aside from one email had not taken steps to improve that situation.”

The inquest heard how Malika had been at home with her mother and had managed to leave her home unnoticed. She unlocked the front door herself before walking the short distance to the canal, which directly backs onto the Peabody housing estate.

CCTV footage shown at the hearing saw her skipping and running down the City Road Basin to look over at the water’s edge, poking her head through the two metal horizontal bars half a metre apart at the canal’s edge. The footage then captured a splash, which police told the court was Malika falling into the water.

She was found 25 minutes later, face down after being spotted by a neighbour seeing a glimpse of her pink pyjamas in the canal. She was taken to St Thomas’ Hospital but she was pronounced dead that evening on February 17.

Ms Hassell said “A number of organisations were involved and until today it was not clear to me which organisation had responsibility for maintaining this safe barrier between the housing, much of which was family housing and the canal. However, today it seems to me that all the evidence points in the same direction, which is that the housing association, Peabody, did in fact own the top of the wall.

“They didn’t realise they owned the top of the wall, didn’t consider the barrier, didn’t risk assess it, and didn’t act.”

She added: “In October 2023 as part of a routine walkabout a member of Peabody noticed the barrier was unsafe and Peabody still did not contact the land registry to make any effort to determine who owned the barrier. It did email the council but when it received no reply it did not chase that until February 9 and so in the intervening months the housing association was aware of an unsafe situation but aside from one email had not taken steps to improve that situation and so when Malika pottered out into the area next to the canal there was nothing stopping her falling in.

“The rail that was present presented no appreciable barrier to a little girl who was just playing and was interested in the water below.”

Malika Hibu died in February after drowning in a stretch of the Regent’s Canal next to Crest Buildings in Wharf Road, Angel

Detective Sergeant Lisa Jordan told the inquest that the railing was not sufficient and or safe for where families are living close by, adding: “Having worked for 16 years in the police department and with health and safety officers it’s very apparent that it was an unsafe area… There were no warning signs at or around the communal area. It was immediately apparent that that barrier was not right for families to be living with.”

During the hearing, Tracy Packer, managing director for Peabody’s north-east London region, was questioned by Ms Hassell, who asked her: “What do you have to say to Malika’s mum and dad on behalf of your company?”

Ms Packer replied: “Obviously we are really saddened by what has happened and while we really want to, we can’t go back and change that and we wish we could. We’ve tried to do what we can do now and how we plan to take things forward but it doesn’t really change anything.”

She was asked by the family’s lawyer whether Peabody accepted responsibility, to which Ms Packer said: “It’s a difficult question, it’s difficult to be responsible for everything that happens. I understand that’s difficult. We want to do what we can do.”

She told the inquest that to get a barrier up after the check in October would still have needed to go through the council’s planning process, and when asked again whether she thought Peabody was responsible, Ms Packer said: “In its entirety I would say, no. I do not accept that. I think we would have had to ask permission for temporary [planning] permission for temporary fencing.”

Speaking in court Huria Ali, Malika’s mother, said her daughter was “funny, sweet and kind” but that due to her autism she often “didn’t know what she was doing.”

The Tribune front page on February 23, reporting Mr Hibu’s call for safety measures so his heartbreak is never repeated

Of her reports, Ms Hassell said: “One is in respect of planning. It seems to me when the planning application was made in 2015 there needed to be consideration of the barrier as a part of the development and I’ve had no evidence it was considered. If that is happening in Islington it could be happening in other boroughs and places up and down the country.”

She added: “In addition I am making a Prevention of Future Deaths to Peabody. I appreciate there is now temporary fencing in front of the Crest Buildings and there are plans to make a more permanent structure, however Peabody is responsible for many such buildings and I remain very concerned they didn’t know for sure what they owned and what they didn’t own.

“They didn’t risk assess a very potentially dangerous situation, they didn’t act on complaints that were made, they didn’t try to make the barrier safer and then even when they noticed they sent one email and didn’t take any other steps till a week before Malika’s death in which it was too late. What concerns me is it’s a culture, a way of thinking, and that is what I want to bring to Peabody’s attention.”

Temporary fencing is currently installed at the site where Malika fell into the water.

A Peabody spokes­person said: “This was a heart-breaking and tragic accident, and our thoughts remain with Malika’s family as they grieve their terrible loss. We’ll continue to support local residents and will consider all the points raised in the coroner’s report.”

Councillor Kaya Comer-Schwartz, leader of Islington Council, said: “Malika’s death was a terrible tragedy, and our thoughts and prayers continue to be with her family and loved ones.

“We will carefully consider everything that has been said today, and throughout the inquest.”