Vickrum Digwa, who stabbed the British student Henry Nowak (18) to death in Southampton on 3 December 2025, appealed against the original sentence in the hope of a more lenient punishment. The result was the opposite: the court increased the minimum sentence from 21 to 25 years.
Digwa, then aged 22, stabbed Nowak several times with a ceremonial dagger, a kirpan, during a chance encounter on the street. He then filmed the dying student, zooming in on his face, and claimed to the police that he himself was the victim of a racist attack. This led to the police handcuffing the seriously injured Nowak. Nowak died shortly afterwards.
The family: Fair, but no punishment can bring our son back
In June 2026, Digwa was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years at Southampton Crown Court. He was also convicted of carrying a knife in a public place.
Digwa appealed against the sentence, claiming it was ‘manifestly excessive’. At the same time, the Attorney General referred the case to the Court of Appeal, arguing that the sentence was ‘unduly lenient’.
On 5 November, three senior judges dismissed Digwa’s appeal and upheld the Attorney General’s argument. The minimum term was increased to 25 years. After deducting 175 days spent in custody, the effective minimum term is 24 years and 190 days before parole can be considered.
The court stated that the original sentence did not adequately reflect ‘the overall gravity of the murder’. Particular emphasis was placed on the repeated use of a large, readily available dagger with the intent to kill an unarmed person, as well as the ‘incomprehensible cruelty’ of filming the victim whilst he was dying, and the subsequent obstruction of justice.
Wait… what?
Vickrum Digwa tried to appeal his sentence for the murder of student Henry Nowak, but the Court of Appeal increased his minimum life sentence from 21 to 25 years, ruling that it was initially “unduly lenient”.
This is unusual for the UK. Are these appeal judges a bit… pic.twitter.com/AEnYq1kEhg
— KJV ✝️ Cat (@KJV_Cat) 7 November 2026
Henry Nowak’s family welcomed the ruling as ‘an important step towards justice’, but emphasised that no punishment can bring their son back to life.
The case has previously sparked considerable debate, including regarding the police’s conduct at the scene.
Digwa is still serving a life sentence; the minimum term is simply the earliest date on which he can be considered for parole.
