Unnamed family members of Vickrum Digwa, 23, have issued a statement apologising to Henry Nowak’s family and asking that the tragedy is “not used by anyone to inflame division or hostility”
The family of the man who murdered Henry Nowak have issued an apology in a statement(Image: Family/Solent News)
The family of Henry Nowak’s murderer has said they are “deeply sorry” for the “pain and suffering” caused by Vickrum Digwa as they issued an apology.
They also apologised for bringing the Sikh community into “disrepute” after 23-year-old Digwa was sentenced to life with a minimum of 21 years for stabbing Henry, 18, to death with a ceremonial knife which he carried as part of his religion. The statement comes as Digwa’s mum, Kiran Kaur, is awaiting sentencing for assisting an offender by taking the knife used to kill Henry in Southampton back to the family home nearby.
The 53-year-old will be sentenced on July 17, once a pre-sentence report has been prepared on her. Ahead of this, unnamed family members of Digwa issued a statement through Sikh PA, a charity which represents the Sikh community in the media.
Vickrum Digwa stabbed Mr Nowak eight times(Image: Hampshire Police/Solent News & Photo Agency)
“The loss of a young life is a grief that no family should ever have to carry. We are deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the Nowak family has had to endure,” the statement said. “We love Vickrum. We will continue to love him. That does not stand in opposition to the sorrow we feel for the Nowak family. Both are real, and both will remain with us for the rest of our lives.
“We would give anything to turn back time so the path of both Henry and Vickrum never crossed that night. We cannot change what has happened, we just hope that no further pain is caused in its name.
“We apologise to the Sikh community for our son’s actions which have unfairly brought the community into disrepute. We ask that this tragedy is not used by anyone to inflame division or hostility towards any community. We now ask for privacy as we come to terms with what lies ahead.”
Mugshot of Vickrum Digwa(Image: Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary/AFP via Getty Images)
Digwa was found guilty at Southampton Crown Court for the murder of Henry, a finance student from Chafford Hundred in Essex, who was stabbed multiple times in Southampton on December 3, 2025, with a 21cm blade. Digwa was also found guilty of carrying a knife in public.
The brutal attack saw henry stabbed twice in the back of the legs as well as in his heart, which was fatal. Moments before the deadly attack, Digwa was filmed telling Henry “I am a bad man.” Giving evidence, Digwa claimed Henry had racially abused him, before punching him and knocking his turban off.
He told the court he had stabbed Henry to the back of his legs in self-denfence after Henry had threatened him and grabbed him by the hair, but said he did not realise at the time he caused the fatal stab wound to the chest. But the prosecution said Digwa told police a “wicked lie” after they arrived, claiming he had been the victim of a racist attack.
Henry Nowak was left to choke on his own blood after police doubted he was stabbed(Image: Hampshire Police/PA Wire)
He also “lied” telling cops he had not stabbed Henry, despite the student’s cries for help as he repeatedly told police he was injured and had been stabbed. As a result, Henry was arrested and put in handcuffs just moments before he collapsed, falling unconscious before dying.
Judge WIlliam Mousley KC said Digwa had a small knife hidden from view called a kirpan, a strict requirement for Sikhs to carry at all times. But he also possessed the bigger 21cm murder weapon, which the judge also described as a kirpan.
“You are a member of an order of Sikhs called the Nihang who have a tradition of having a second knife, or kirpan, and that is often fully visible, believing that the guru will look favourably on that,” the judge said. “You observed taht tradition in your everyday life, at work and in public. However, it was not a strict requirement; that is borne out by the fact that neither your brother nor father, who arrived at the scene after you had stabbed Henry, were so dressed.”
Henry’s family have cautioned against “knee-jerk reactions” but said there must be a “common sense approach to law and order.” They added: “People should not be able to walk openly through the streets of Britain carrying a 21cm blade.”
Under the current law, such blades should not exceed 9in, the judge said. Digwa’s second knife was just over 8in in length. The Crown Prosecution Service said the knife used to attack Henry was not considered an offensive weapon until the point of the altercation.
In a statement after yesterday’s sentencing, Henry’s family said: “As the KC for the prosecution summed up in court: This is not a case about Sikhism. This is not a case about racism. This is a case about murder.”
