Bhekisani Matabiswana given nearly 16 years for Luke Harden murder

Bhekisani Matabiswana, 27, of St James Square, Bacup, was handed the sentence by Judge Robert Altham at Preston Crown Court after being convicted by a jury last week.

Matabiswana punched, kicked, and stamped on Mr Harden in a violent assault in Newchurch Road, Stacksteads, following a Halloween party at the Rosemount Working Men's Club.

Bhekisani Matabiswana (Image: Lancashire Police)

He suffered catastrophic injuries to his head, face, and neck, including a fractured nose and jaw, and a fracture to his larynx.

Matabiswana attempted to leave the country after being released under investigation, purchasing a flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, but he was arrested at Manchester Airport shortly before boarding.

Sentencing recap

Bhekisani Matabiswana sentenced to nearly 16 years for Luke Harden murder

He returned to Preston Crown Court today, where he was handed the life sentence.

Judge Altham told Matabiswana the trial had, by necessity, focused on his actions that night, but said victim personal statements showed Mr Harden as “a real person” with “plans and hopes for the future".

He said seven statements from Mr Harden’s relatives and friends painted a picture of a warm, funny and much‑loved man who “brought light and warmth wherever he went”, and whose death had left a permanent hole in the lives of those closest to him.

Luke Harden (Image: Lancashire Police)

He told the court: “The statements convey the warmth of his character, the place he occupied in his family.

"You brought that life to an end with your unlawful violence. It is clear you have not only taken a life, but inflicted lifelong harm to those close to him.”

During the trial, the jury heard both men had been at a Halloween party at the Rosemount Working Men’s Club, where they had briefly shaken hands earlier in the evening.

Sentencing, Judge Altham said that later that night, Mr Harden, who had been drinking and had taken drugs, left the club and made his way along Newchurch Road, where he encountered Matabiswana and his then-partner, Natalie Chadwick.

He said Mr Harden was “behaving oddly” and had tipped over a road sign as he approached the couple, but rejected Matabiswana’s account that the pair had traded blows and that he was acting in self-defence.

Bhekisani Matabiswana dressed as a clown at the scene (Image: Lancashire Police)

“The only witness I have heard from as to what happened then is from you, and the jury has rejected that account,” he said.

“I cannot be sure he didn’t try to engage in some possible unwanted conversation with you and Ms Chadwick. I can’t rule out the possibility that he gave the impression of reaching for you.

“I do not accept that you traded blows. You had no injury to your face. I’m satisfied you lost your temper. The extent and type of injury admit no other interpretation.”

Trial recap

• Trial Day 1 - Updates from day one of murder trial
• Trial Day 2 - Prosecution giving evidence in court
• Trial Day 3 - Prosecution evidence continues
• Trial Day 4 - Witnesses giving evidence in court
• Trial Day 5 - Experts giving evidence in court
• Trial Day 6 - Prosecution concluding case in court
• Trial Day 7 - Defendant being cross-examined in court
• Trial Day 8 - Judge gives directions
• Trial Day 9 - Judge continuing summing up of case
• Trial Day 10 - Luke Harden trial live updates as jury sent out
• Trial Day 11 - Jury in murder trial completes first full day of deliberations
• Trial Day 12 - Bacup man found guilty of Luke Harden murder - recap

The judge said Matabiswana stamped hard on Mr Harden’s face, leaving a clear footmark, and that Mr Harden also suffered at least one forceful blow which broke his nose and jaw, and another which ruptured his voice box.

“I cannot be sure you intended to kill,” he said. “But your intention to cause really serious harm is clear from the evidence.”

He told the court Ms Chadwick screamed “in terror” at what Matabiswana had done and that “a hurried plan was formed” to return and pretend they had simply found Mr Harden lying in the road.

“You decided to return and falsely say you found him on the ground,” he said. “That was a wicked lie.

"You knew those treating Luke would need as much information as possible. But you weren’t concerned about him, only yourselves.”

Judge Altham said there was “no good explanation” for Matabiswana’s failure to call the emergency services, despite another member of the public trying to persuade him to do so.

“You lied to the ambulance service,” he said. “You knew what you had done, and you feared you would be held accountable for it.”

He said that in the days after the killing, Matabiswana obtained a new phone and booked a flight to Johannesburg, describing it as a “determined effort to flee” that was only thwarted when he was arrested at Manchester Airport shortly before boarding.

The court heard Matabiswana had no previous convictions either in the UK or in his native Zimbabwe, and had been described in references as a man of good character before that night.

His barrister told the court there had been no planning or premeditation and that what happened in a very short period of time was “unfathomable”, describing it as a “very, very bad thing” done by someone with no history of serious offending.

But the judge said any lack of planning was outweighed by the seriousness of the attack, the fact that Mr Harden was on the ground and defenceless, and Matabiswana’s lies and subsequent attempt to leave the country.

In emotional statements read to the court, Mr Harden’s family and friends described how his death had “shattered” their lives and handed them what they called their own “life sentences”.

His father, Gary Harden, said Luke was not only his son, but his “friend” and “pride," and spoke of the daily pain of knowing he would never again hear his son’s infectious laugh or see his smile.

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He said: “Everyday life is no longer the same. Family moments feel incomplete. Luke should be there, but he isn’t and can no longer be.

“We’ll never see that smile and hear that laugh again. That’s been taken from everyone who loved him. He’ll be missed beyond words.

"No sentence will ever bring our son back… Luke deserved to live his life, and that has been taken from him.”

His mother, Katie McGovern, told the court she and her husband had been planning their retirement from their home in Spain when they received the late‑night phone call telling them their son was dead.

She described the surreal experience of scrambling to book flights while in shock, and said the loss had left her “frozen in time, a shell” of the person she once was, unable even to help plan her son’s funeral or support their daughter through her grief.

“We can no longer be normal,” she said. “We’ll never be the same people we were before November 1.

"We’ve been robbed of time, hugs, kisses, love and memories. His life has been ripped away, and the reason why is still unknown.”

Mr Harden’s sister, Melissa, described her brother as her “other half” and said they had always been treated like twins, just 15 months apart.

“My brother has been taken from me. A huge part of who I am has been snatched away,” she said.

“We’ve always come as a pair, Luke and Missy. Now I have to get used to using my name on its own.”

She said the house where she took the calls on the night of the killing now felt “tainted” by trauma, and spoke of being unable to look in the mirror because her eyes were like Luke’s, a “stark reminder” she would never look into his again.

“One life has been taken, one sentence to be served, but this act has handed out tens of life sentences to us,” she said. “My past has been tainted, my present is a wreckage, my future has been stolen.”

Friends and extended family also described the devastation of that night and its aftermath, from the desperate attempts to save Mr Harden’s life at the roadside to the lasting impact of witnessing the attack.

Matthew Oldham told the court he had to relive the sight of his best friend’s “beat up face” every night when he closed his eyes, while Jenni Eccles, another friend, said the trauma had left her with severe PTSD, nightmares, and panic attacks, and had destroyed her relationship and family life.

Holly Mitchell, Mr Harden's cousin, said more than 500 people had attended his funeral and that the killing had “devastated the entire Rossendale Valley and beyond," adding: “Matabiswana will get a life sentence, but it is us serving it.”

Floral tributes left on the pavement where the body of Luke Harden was found. (Image: Phil Taylor)

Mr Harden’s girlfriend, Milli Mason, described him as her “partner for life and soulmate” and said they had been planning a future together, including marriage, holidays, and starting a family.

She told the court: “We talked about having a baby together. We even created an AI image of what our child might look like… that future has been stolen from us.

“You ended his life. Not only his, but mine too. Luke’s memory will live on, but the pain will never fade. He was taken far too soon. He will always be my boy, and I will love him forever.”

Following Matabiswana's conviction last week, Det Insp Pete MacDonald, from Lancashire Police’s force major investigation team, said Mr Harden had been the victim of a “vicious attack” carried out while he lay helpless in the road.

He said: “Luke Harden was the victim of a vicious attack carried out by a man who continued to assault him while he lay defenceless on the ground.

"His attacker then made no effort to help him and pretended he had simply stumbled across Luke already injured.

“Matabiswana has shown no remorse whatsoever for his actions and has made several efforts to evade justice, including by trying to flee the country.

“I welcome this sentence imposed today, and while no jail term can ever compensate for the loss of a life, I hope it gives Luke’s family some sense that justice has been done.

"I would like to thank once again our counsel, the CPS and all those officers and police staff who worked tirelessly to ensure Luke’s loved ones got the justice they deserve.”