‘Killed my son for nothing’: Family grieve model killed in stabbing in Melbourne’s west

Homicide detectives are investigating the attack, which occurred less than a kilometre away from a reserve where Lino Atem, 24, was fatally stabbed last month after he and his friends were set upon by a group armed with knives.

Investigators are trying to figure out the motive behind the attack. Officers remained at the scene on Thursday morning, looking for the weapon used. It is not yet clear whether Mwanza knew the two attackers.

“The victim was not known to police at all. He was on the bus, minding his own business,” Detective Inspector Dean Thomas, head of the Homicide Squad, told the media on Thursday.

“These two have boarded the bus and sat down just in front and engaged in conversation. What that conversation was, we don’t know.”

On Thursday morning, Mwanza’s family made a desperate plea for the violence to stop. They said the 23-year-old wasn’t a troublemaker and would never hurt a fly.

“This has to stop. Whatever has to be done, this has to stop,” his uncle, Tresor Mugunyi, said.

“There has to be some sort of accountability, some sort of repercussion for these kinds of things. He was just a gentle giant.

“We left our countries to come here because this is a safe place. Not to have to deal with this kind of thing.”

His father, Samuel Mwanza, who last saw his son on Wednesday afternoon, said his children had never had any problems with anybody.

“Why they killed my son? Why? For what? Everything has a solution. We can talk and then we can get a solution. Why they killed my son for nothing?” he said.

“Stop killing people for nothing.”

Friends and relatives paying tribute to Mwanza online described him as “the sweetest and most humble kid” and said his attackers had robbed him of his dreams.

“Had a whole life ahead of you doing what you love,” read an online tribute, accompanied by a video of Mwanza modelling for sports apparel brand Champion in 2021.

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A separate post accompanied by a link to information about Mwanza’s death read: “Evil will never win, the flesh dies but the spirit lives”.

Images shared by Mwanza on his Instagram account show him modelling for sneaker stores. He has also done a campaign for Nike.

On TikTok, he shared videos of himself showing off his outfits, his grillz (decorative tooth covers made of precious metals, sometimes encrusted with jewels), and behind-the-scenes moments at photoshoots.

The family was planning to come together for dinner on Friday to celebrate the arrival of some cousins visiting from Perth.

“You sometimes see it on the news, or you hear about it, you never thought it’d come close to home,” Mugunyi said.

“That’s just senseless killing. I don’t know how these kids … just wake up in the morning and really think about what we want to do to someone today.

”This kid [Mwanza] was as gentle as a human being can be. There was not a bone in his body that had a problem.“

Police described the offenders as two men of Asian appearance aged in their late teens or early 20s. One was wearing a white T-shirt, dark-coloured jeans and runners. The second was wearing a dark puffer jacket. Both had caps on at the time of the attack.

Investigators are urging anyone who witnessed the incident or has footage of the area at the time of the attack to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit crimestoppersvic.com.au.