Cleared man 'saw friend with gun'

A man cleared of shooting dead a former champion boxer in a nightclub row about smoking has said he heard loud bangs and later saw a friend with a gun.

Dean Francis, 24, told a jury at the Old Bailey that after the loud noise, he quickly left the west London club.

Mr Francis, of Wandsworth, south London told the court he later saw Kanyata Mulenga, 23, take a gun from his waist.

James Oyebola, 46, died four days after he was shot in the neck and leg in July 2007. Mr Mulenga denies his murder.

The shooting at the Chateau 6 club in Fulham happened on 23 July, less than a month after England's no-smoking ban came into effect.

Along with Mr Francis, Rene McKoy, 20, of Battersea, south London, was also cleared of Mr Oyebola's murder last week.

Heavyweight champion

Mr Mulenga, of Putney, south-west London, remains on trial for murder.

While giving evidence against Mr Mulenga, Mr Francis was asked who had the gun on the night of the shooting.

He replied: "I am not sure who had the gun in the club.

"Afterwards I saw Mulenga with a gun. He pulled it up, showed it to me, went off and came back a few minutes later. That's the last time I saw it."

Jurors have been told how the former British heavyweight boxing champion was shot when he asked a group of men to stop smoking.

Mr Mulenga's trial continues.

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