– Guilty of manslaughter, to be sentenced on May 29
A Demerara Assize jury in the brother’s murder trial yesterday found Kazim Mohammed of Public Road, La Penitence, not guilty of the murder of his older brother Nazim Mohamed but guilty of the lesser count of manslaughter.

Kazim Mohammed has been remanded to prison.

The prosecution’s case was based on a confession statement by the accused who said that on January 16, 2005, his brother Nazim had attacked him with a knife.

He also said that he had disarmed the brother after which, “I stabbed him in the back and on the head. If I did not defend myself, my brother would have killed me”, the accused had told the police in a confession statement.

Defence Counsel Peter Hugh was also relying on the statement to prove his defence of self-defence.

But in his summing up of the case to the jury, the judge wondered whether the accused, after disarming his attacker, did not use more force than was necessary.

The jury after deliberating for two hours returned with a unanimous verdict of not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.

When the trial began some days ago, DPP lawyers Prithima Kissoon

and Dianna Boyan presented the case against Kazim.

They alleged that following an argument and a clash between the

brothers on January 16, 2005, brother Nazim was found bleeding from

a wound.

Nazim was rushed to the Georgetown Hospital, where he was

pronounced dead.

Sister of the accused Rhynath Mohamed, who testified that she had

parted the brothers, claimed that she had got her hand smeared with

blood, but did not see any weapon.

However, the prosecution had put in evidence a written statement by

the accused, which was not objected to by the defence.

That statement by the accused to the police recorded him as saying

“Nazim lash me across meh back and on my ankle with a piece of wood.

He then walked away and went to the toilet. When he returned ah see

ah knife inside he hand, he advance towards me with the kitchen knife

fuh bore me, Ah hold on to he and tek away the knife and ah stab he

pon he back and head. My sister then run up and separate we. If meh

din defend meh self meh brother would ah kill me.”

At the close of the prosecution’s case, Defence Counsel Peter Hugh had

submitted that there was no case made out for his client to answer, and

asked that the accused be freed at that stage.

During the trial the judge held a voir dire (a trial within a trial) to

determine the issue. After listening to arguments in the absence of the

jury, he overruled the no-case submission and called on the accused for

a defence, when the accused declared, “I have nothing to say.”

On the resumption yesterday, the judge summed up the evidence in 3

hours before handing over the case to the mixed jury for its

consideration and verdict.