Boxer found dead in London park just as he about to be deported

A Zimbabwean boxer who was due to be deported from the UK has been found dead in a London park.

Bhekitshe Moyo, 42, had lived in the UK for more than 15 years on a sports visa before he was ordered to leave by the Home Office.

Moyo, a former bank manager from Zimbabwe, was reported missing last Monday, March 13, but his body was later found by police near Mitcham Common.

An unusual Facebook post which ended with: ‘I have to sleep now. I love you all. Now be good to one another’ prompted concerns from his family, most of whom still live in Zimbabwe.

Moyo, who lived in Wallington, London, competed in matches frequently and he often volunteered teaching youths interested in the sport.

He had come to the UK on a sports visa, a family friend told the Evening Standard.

A spokesperson said: "At approximately 00:40hrs on Tuesday, 7 March, officers carrying out enquiries in relation to a man who had been reported missing on the evening of Monday, 6 March discovered the body of a deceased man close to Mitcham Common.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Next of kin have been informed. The death is not being treated as suspicious. Enquiries continue."

The Home Office told Metro.co.uk that Moyo had been in an immigration centre until November 2016, though a spokesperson pointed out he wasn’t in detention when he died so they wouldn’t be commenting further.

A fundraising page has been set up to raise money to repatriate Moyo’s body back to Zimbabwe, visit it here.