The mother of a five-year-old boy who fell from his 15th-floor flat has told an inquest his death was "preventable" and that he could "still be here" if the council had fulfilled its responsibilities.
Aalim Ahmed died instantly after falling from the kitchen window of the family's flat in Jacobs House, Plaistow, east London. His father discovered his body shortly before 6am on 16 May 2024.
Mother's safety concerns ignored
Aalim's mother, Sahra Osman, told Walthamstow Coroner's Court she was "scared" and "horrified" when Newham Council placed the family in the top-floor flat, which was in need of repairs. She moved in in February 2023 despite serious doubts about its suitability for her family, which included Aalim, a toddler and her partner.
Ms Osman said she had been advised to move in and raise her safety concerns afterwards, rather than risk becoming homeless by refusing the property. She told Sandesh Singh, representing the council, "you guys ignored me rather than doing anything about the actual issues".
She believes Aalim, who had autism and "no sense of danger", may have been attempting to reach a biscuit from a cupboard. The windows were fitted with "faulty" restrictors, and her repeated complaints to have them repaired resulted only in a succession of workmen who failed to resolve the issue.
Family's ordeal
Ms Osman became visibly upset while being questioned, stating: "I did everything I could as a mum to protect my son." The inquest has previously heard that Aalim's body was identified by relatives and his cause of death was recorded as multiple injuries from a "fall from height".
Ms Osman continued: "You guys could have prevented this tragic thing from happening. If you had done your job, he could have been here. I think that Newham Council failed me as a mum, as a tenant. I tried everything. I tried to tell them my concerns about safety multiple times and you guys ignored me rather than doing anything about the actual issues."
She added: "I told you my son (Aalim) has autism. I do not know what more I can prove. I showed you a GP letter. The people that knew him sent a letter to the council saying this family need to be moved from this flat because they are not safe."
The court was told she had sent correspondence informing them of Aalim's autism diagnosis, and she stated she also "believes" she forwarded a letter regarding this matter. Even after engineers had attended to inspect necessary repairs, she remained convinced the property was unsafe and there were "open windows".
Every window was "always closed" before the household retired for the evening, but the cries of her toddler calling out "Aalim", "window" and "outside" subsequently warned the family that something was wrong. Ms Osman told the court that her partner stood at the kitchen window "just crying and screaming in shock" after "he saw his son's pyjamas" and "he just could not believe it".
Aalim's father, Makail Ahmed, described the moment as one of "disbelief – it was a nightmare". He rushed downstairs and found his son. Neighbours woken by the commotion dialled 999.
Faulty restrictors and council response
Previously, Ms Osman explained that when a window engineer visited in January 2024, she tried "all the windows" in the flat and could still open them. She had requested a safety device, known as a restrictor, be fitted to every window and observed that the bedroom window could be left "just open wide", stating "I was quite scared and it was unsafe".
The engineer indicated he would see about getting it fixed, but within a day she had found a window restrictor on the floor. She contacted the council to raise concerns and pleaded for assistance, explaining "the window was wide open, it would not lock, it was hanging", and she wanted to speak to a manager.
She emphasised it posed a safety risk to her children, though claimed the council failed to classify it as "an emergency". Ms Osman stated the "restrictors were not working, they were there for decoration" and expressed frustration that securing a proper response from the council could take months.
The council suggested the engineer had not been informed of any restrictor issues in the kitchen, though acknowledged problems existed in the living room. Ms Osman insisted she had told the workmen there was a problem in all the rooms of the flat and accused the council of "not taking my situation seriously enough".
She told Mr Singh: "If you people did your job seriously and done what you should have my son could have been here. It was preventable. If the council had done their job my son could have been here." She firmly rejected any suggestion that she might have "forced" the window open to cope with hot weather.
Assistant coroner Ian Wade said: "One of the things I bear in mind is the horrendous loss borne by Aalim's family and indeed the community. I am very conscious that this should never have happened but how it happened remains to be seen." The hearing continues.
