Three men freed of 2020 robbery/murder in West Coast Berbice

Three men were acquitted on Thursday of the 2020 robbery–murder that occurred at Experiment, West Coast Berbice.

Royston “Sakie/Killa” Dowden, a labourer from Bath Settlement; Ivan Lindo, a labourer and security guard from Waterloo, Bath; and Devon McCalmon, a labourer from Number 28 Village, had been in custody since 2020 for the killing of 49-year-old Mohamed Haniff. Haniff was beaten and chopped in his home during what was initially reported as a robbery.

On Thursday, the three men walked out of the Berbice High Court after a 12-member jury found that the State had not proven the murder charges against them.

The defendants were represented by attorneys Kevin Morgan, Horatio Edmonson, and Chandra Sohan, while State Prosecutor Cicela Corbin led the case for the prosecution.

During the trial, the State presented video evidence said to show the men approaching Haniff’s home on the night of the incident. Prosecutor Corbin alleged that they entered armed, demanded $8,000, and killed Haniff when he refused.

Government Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh testified that Haniff died from shock and haemorrhage due to severe injuries consistent with a beating and chopping.

The prosecution also relied heavily on the testimony of Haniff’s wife, Bibi Zarifa Haniff, who told the court that three men entered their home while she and her husband were upstairs. She said the men demanded money, assaulted her husband when he refused, and then escaped, insisting it was a robbery.

However, the prosecution faced major contradictions during cross-examination by attorney Chandra Sohan. Sohan produced evidence showing she had purchased Valium earlier that day. Although she claimed it was for personal use, the attorney suggested she might have administered it to her husband before an attack.

The defence also highlighted that nothing was missing from the home and that police later recovered the cash and jewellery allegedly targeted by the attackers, undermining the robbery theory.

All three accused gave differing accounts in their statements. One, identified as Darwin, claimed he found Haniff already injured when he entered the house, further adding to inconsistencies in the State’s case.

Shortly after the killing, police had questioned Bibi Zarifa Haniff, suspecting she may have orchestrated the attack because of alleged financial problems, including reportedly pawning the family home without her husband’s knowledge. One suspect claimed she let the men into the house. However, due to insufficient evidence, she was released on bail and was never charged.

Following closing arguments, the jury deliberated for about two hours before returning unanimous not-guilty verdicts for all three men.

Facing the possibility of life imprisonment or even a death sentence, the men were released immediately.