– after main witness fails to show

MURDER accused Naresh Ramjohn, a.k.a ‘Sadam’, on Thursday walked out of the Berbice Assizes a free man into the waiting arms of relatives and friends amidst screams of joy.

The elation was as a result of Justice Priya Sewnarine Beharry ordering the mixed jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty in favour of the accused.
Ramjohn, 44, of New Amsterdam, Berbice, was accused of killing 28-year-old Anthony Samaroo on July 2, 2008, at Levi Dam, Mount Sinai, a squatting area on the eastern fringes of New Amsterdam.

Early into the trial, Ramjohn’s lawyers, Arudranauth Gossai and Surihya Sabsook had submitted that the prosecution had failed to present a case against the accused, and that the only evidence that was laid in the matter was that of Bryan Ghanpat, who said he had seen the accused among others at the scene of the incident.

Said Gossai: “All the evidence revealed was that the accused was a mere bystander.”

As to the particulars of the case which stated that Ramjohn and others had unlawfully killed Antony Samaroo, Gossai contended that there was no evidence whatsoever to suggest that there was a pre-arranged plan or a joint enterprise.
The case for the prosecution, as stated by State Prosecutor Mondel Moore, was that on July 2, 2008, Ryan Samaroo was walking along Levi Dam when he was confronted by Ramjohn.

But rather than responding, Samaroo reportedly continued walking, and as he did so, he saw his brother, Tajepaul, coming up the road. And as the two talked, they saw Ramjohn and his two brothers, all armed to the teeth, approaching.
Knowing they were outnumbered, the Samaroo boys reportedly hurried home and awoke another brother, Anthony, and told him what had transpired.
Shortly after, the three brothers returned to Levi Dam and a fight broke out. Ryan and Tajepaul Samaroo were able to escape unscathed, but not Anthony. According to Ryan, he was standing some distance away when Anthony was stabbed.

He and Tajepaul reportedly ran home and told their mother what happened, but by the time they returned to the scene, Anthony was lying on the ground in a pool of blood. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. The post-mortem revealed that the cause of death was shock and haemorrhage due to multiple stab wounds.

What weakened the prosecution’s case during the just-concluded hearing was that one of the State’s main witnesses, Tajepaul Samaroo, the deceased’s brother, told the court that he could not remember much, and doesn’t know anything about how his sibling was killed.

The witness also said that he did not know who killed his brother; just that he was “bored up” by someone.

While giving evidence, Samaroo failed to answer questions put to him by the State Prosecutor; all he kept saying was that he could not recall or did not see anything. He also denied taking his injured brother to the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Eight witnesses were called by the State, among them were the deceased’s mother, Meena Persaud; Government Pathologist, Dr. Vivikanand Brijmohan; Inspector Michael Newland; Detective Corporal Denesh Baichu; and Sergeant Dexter Brandt.

The prosecution failed to have the deposition of Ryan Samaroo read into evidence, after the Court was dissatisfied with the interventions of the state.
Ramjohn faced a murder retrial, which was ordered by the Appellate Court. At his initial trial in 2014, the witnesses had supported the State’s case, resulting in a unanimous verdict of guilty.

Consequently, Presiding Judge Navindra Singh had imposed a 55 ½-year jail term, after listening to the evidence of Probation and Welfare Officer, Ms. Claudia Munroe, who had revealed that Ramjohn and Samaroo were involved in illegal activities, such as abusing drugs and theft, which eventually led to murder.