Rapper Abdirahaman Yussuf jailed for life for killing Yahya Sharif on Coventry Road

A Birmingham man has been jailed for life today (24 February) for the murder of a teenager who was stabbed to death moments after getting out of his car on one of the city’s busiest roads in rush hour.

Abdirahaman Yussuf, 20, of Hob Moor Road, Yardley will serve a minimum of 22 years before being able to apply for parole. His victim, Yahya Sharif, had pulled on to the pavement in Coventry Road, Small Heath, when he was ambushed.

The 18-year-old was stabbed once in the chest and managed to run away but quickly collapsed and then died at the scene. CCTV captured Yussuf with a group chatting nearby in the moments before he headed towards the victim’s BMW when he pulled up, at around 5.20pm on 10 December 2021.

A murder investigation was launched and officers recovered the knife and discarded clothing from a street nearby. Following a public appeal for help in finding Yussuf, he was arrested in London on 16 February last year.

Hidden in an envelope in his sock were handwritten rap lyrics apparently referencing the stabbing. Following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court which started in October, Yussuf was found guilty of murder on 9 December.

Family statement

Before sentencing today the court heard personal statements from Yahya’s parents. His father said: “I feel pain when I see boys the same age as my son going out, driving a car, going to school, working, talking about university and walking with their fathers. Yahya was a bright boy with a great future ahead of him.

”All his teachers loved him. From a young age he was driven and doing good within our community.”

His mother said: “There are many times I have not been able to sit in court because of flashbacks from the day my son died. I still don’t know why my son was killed. Saying sorry will not bring my child back. I can never move on, my life is destroyed.

“My son should still be alive and I miss him every single day. Yahya meant the world to me and I dreamed of seeing him getting married and meeting my future grandchildren. All of this has been taken away from me and his brothers and sisters.”