A 32-year-old man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the brutal murder of a respected indigenous village leader during a domestic dispute in Region Seven (Cuyuni -Mazaruni).
Justice Navindra Singh handed down the sentence at the High Court in Essequibo, ordering that time already served since 2019 be deducted from the prison term.

The accused, Addisena Benjamin, a resident of Kurutuku Village, pleaded guilty to the capital offence of murder in connection with the killing of Toshao Solomon Lewis, 52, on January 1, 2019.
According to the case facts presented by State Counsel Caressa Henry, the deadly incident unfolded after Benjamin allegedly assaulted his then-partner, Sarah Lewis, the daughter of the deceased.
The incident escalated into a heated confrontation between Benjamin and Lewis, during which Benjamin fatally chopped the village leader on the shoulder with a cutlass.
A post-mortem examination confirmed that Lewis died from septic shock due to meningitis and bronchopneumonia, both resulting from multiple injuries sustained in the attack.
Benjamin also inflicted injuries on Marvin Lewis, the son of the deceased, during the same altercation.
In her submissions to the court, Prosecutor Henry highlighted several aggravating factors, including the use of a deadly weapon, the vulnerability of the victim due to his age, and the rising trend of unlawful killings across the country.

Benjamin was represented by defence attorney Tonza Sarabo, who urged the court to consider his client’s guilty plea and the fact that he had been on remand for more than five years.
Justice Singh took into account the domestic nature of the killing; Benjamin’s early guilty plea; his genuine expression of remorse; a favourable probation report and other factors before imposing a 20-year sentence, with time already served to be deducted.
Benjamin was initially charged with the offence in January 2019.
Following the conclusion of a preliminary inquiry in July 2021, he was committed to stand trial at the Essequibo Criminal Assizes.