13 years later, family’s grief resurfaces: “This time, I hope and pray that justice is served” – Sadeek Juman’s mother

“When I look at the way this little girl body was found in the pool and the marks of violence on her body, is the same as my son 12 years ago… It aches to know that people would target innocent children to do this kind of dirty work. It’s time that someone put a stop to it once and for all.”

These are the sentiments of Bibi Farida Juman, the mother of Sadeek Juman whose body was found on November 19, 2012 – one day after meeting a group of friends at the Double Day Hotel, Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE).
The woman, who could barely contain her emotions, told the Guyana Times that almost 13 years have passed but not for one single day, she doesn’t yearn to see her only son again.
“The images I have seen on social media with 11-year-old Adrianna reminds me of my son… he was taken away from us without a reason… and although the evidence was right in front our eyes, those responsible for his death are roaming free today… but, this time, I hope and pray that justice is served… if the culprit is punished for doing this to this little girl, I will at least find some closure, that my son also received justice because I know, it is the very monster committed the act,” she told this publication.
Adrianna’s death brought back the painful memories of losing a child, Juman added, while noting that although her son’s body wasn’t burnt, his head and chest were severely swollen, his hands were ‘blue’, and at the time of the discovery, his body was fresh.

This, she stated, indicated that his body was dumped in the pool not long before it was seen floating.
The grieving mother related that looking at the child’s body lying on the ground is a vivid resemblance to her son when he was pulled from the pool. “My pressure went up right away… it seemed as though it was my son lying there all over again… I had to sit for some time at work and catch myself before I continued. Something has to be done, and since my son died, I have been calling for the hotel to be closed down but here we are, 12 years later, the same thing happened.”
However, while she doesn’t condone violence, she is happy that the Younge family and the community came out to support them in calling for justice.
“At that time, it was our family alone, no one came out to support us… while we know he was murdered, the post mortem showed that he drowned… but all the evidence were swept under the carpet by a rogue policeman and his confederates, so the court had no other choice to rule against us,” she claimed.
“I guess, if we had taken the same stance as the Younge family, we would have gotten some form of justice, but we are a quiet family, and that itself was taken advantage of,” she mused.
Reminiscing on how it all happened, Juman related that her son left their Blankenburg West Coast Demerara (WCD) home on November 18, 2012 for Parika to purchase some DVDs. After purchasing them, he ended up at his grandmother at Ruby, EBE where he spent some time with her.
But after visiting his grandmother, he never returned home. As he was leaving his grandmother’s residence, he telephoned his mother and informed her that he was going to be home by 20:00h but that never happened.
Uncertain what transpired after, he reportedly ended up at the Double Day Hotel where he joined a group of friends. Due to his height, he towered over the water in the pool and as such, his mother felt that there was no way her son had drowned.
All night, his mother stayed up and attempted to contact him, but to no avail. His phone went unanswered. It wasn’t until the next day, that a friend telephoned the now dead youth’s sister and informed her that her brother’s body was pulled from the pool.
Panicked and rattled, the family rushed to the scene but on their way received another call instructing them to go to the Leonora Cottage Hospital instead. After waiting for some time, the body arrived and the parents were faced with their worst fear – identifying the battered body of their only son.
“They really beat he… really beat he…,” she recalled.
The autopsy was completed, and Sadeek was buried on November 22 – his 21st birthday.
“The most painful thing for any parent is to bury or cremate a child…at no circumstance, should a parent sit and look at their child in a box wrapped in, while knowing fully well that it would be the last you will see them… worst is the manner in which they died… that can be devastating… the family to this day, only wish he were alive,” Juman grieved.
Four years later, Bhagnarine Bhola, a Manager of the hotel and Lealon Johnson, 29, were jointly charged with the murder of Sadeek, but one year later, they were acquitted for lack of prosecution’s evidence.
At the time, it was reported that the young man had gotten into a heated argument with a group of men at the hotel. The men allegedly inflicted a severe beating on Juman.
He was reportedly put in a room until night fell. When night fell they placed the still-unconscious young man in the hotel pool to give the appearance he had drowned.
Today, his mother empathises with the Younge family, as her family known what it is to lose a loved one in the most demonic way. Even though she doesn’t believe in human sacrifice, she hopes that it can end, once the source is eliminated.
She wishes the Younge family find solace and more importantly, the authorities get it right this time around, so that justice can be served.