Kemo Evans was yesterday afternoon sentenced to 29 years behind bars after being found guilty by a jury of the 2015 murder of Hamson’s General Store owner Abdool Farouk Ghanie, who was stabbed during a robbery at his home.
After about two hours of deliberations, the 12-member jury returned with its unanimous verdict, convicting Evans of the charge levelled against him.
Earlier this month, his co-accused, Floyd Ramit, who had been employed by Ghani and was close to the businessman’s family, was handed a 30-year jail sentence by Justice Sandil Kissoon, after pleading guilty to the capital offence.
Sentencing Evans at the High Court in Georgetown, Justice Kissoon said that he had considered both the mitigating and aggravating factors of the case.
The judge commenced the sentence at a base of 40 years, from which he made deductions for the time Evans had spent behind bars awaiting trial, his age at the time the offence was committed and the fact that he had no antecedents.
In addition, on defence attorney Dexter Todd’s request, Justice Kissoon also made deductions for Evan’s good behaviour while behind bars as well as evidence indicating that while the convict was a part of the joint enterprise, it was not he who had inflicted the fatal injuries.
In total, 11 years were deducted, even as the judge stressed that aggravating factors needed to be considered as well.
Prosecutor Tuanna Hardy had asked the court to consider the nature, gravity and prevalence of the offence committed, while asking that a sentence reflective of the crime be imposed.
On this point, she said that a strong message needed to be sent to society that such actions will not be condoned.
She said that not only was the act itself gruesome, but that it was premeditated as well, while emphasising that Ghanie was killed in the sanctity of his home—a tragedy with which his family is still trying to cope.
In a victim impact statement addressed to the court, Ghanie’s daughter and a brother spoke of how his death has affected the family and how much he is missed.
They said that while the guilty verdict cannot bring their loved one back, it gives them some measure of satisfaction and a sense of justice for the loss they will forever have to deal with.
The state’s case has been that Ramit, who had his own living quarters at his boss’ premises, had taken Evans to the man’s residence, where they attacked and proceeded to rob him.
Hardy had said that Ghanie was stabbed about the body, but suffered the fatal wound to his heart.
Ghanie, 56, was found by his wife on April 16th, 2015, on the premises of his Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara home with multiple stab wounds about his body.
