Corentyne fatal stabbing: “I saw him stab my brother” – witness tells Judge, jury

…as accused says he was cornered by Mingo brothers, fled after realising he was in a “bad situation”

The brother of dead Port Mourant resident Ramanand Mingo told the Berbice High Court that he saw Andrew Seegobin stab the 29-year-old during an argument at a shop and bar in the village on the night of November 19, 2023.
Dianand Mingo, who testified before Justice Deborah Kumar-Chetty and a 12-member jury, said he was sitting on a motorcycle outside the shop when he noticed his brother and the accused arguing inside.
The witness told the court that earlier that night, he and his brother had stopped at a supermarket, which also operated as a bar and beer garden. He said he remained outside at the gate while his brother went into the shop to purchase a drink using a $5000 bill he had given him.
Mingo said that while he was waiting outside, he noticed his brother and Seegobin engaged in an argument inside the shop. He said he went inside and told his brother to stop the argument but was confronted by the shop owner and his mother, who began pushing him and ordering him to leave.
The witness told the court that after he exited the shop, he saw Seegobin taking out his phone and recording video while his brother asked not to be filmed.
“I see Andrew pick up a knife and stab my brother – one stab,” the witness said. “I hold my brother, and he collapse.”

Mingo told the court the weapon appeared to be a kitchen knife about eight inches long and insisted that his brother was unarmed at the time.
“My brother did not have any knife; he had nothing,” he said.
The witness said that after the stabbing, the accused ran towards the back of the building. He said he then rushed his brother to the hospital, but the injured man was already dead.
Under cross-examination, Mingo admitted that he was standing outside the bar when the stabbing occurred and acknowledged that he had picked up bricks and thrown them inside the shop during the commotion.
He also told the court that when he attempted to intervene earlier in the argument, the shop owner had armed himself with a cutlass, while another man had a knife and pushed him out of the shop.
When shown a video recording previously played for the jury, Mingo said the footage showed Seegobin recording before throwing down the phone, pulling a knife from his waist, and stabbing his brother.
The witness also denied telling Police that the weapon used was a “Rambo knife”, maintaining that he had said it was a kitchen knife and explaining that he could not read and did not know what was written in his statement.
Mingo further told the court that security cameras were mounted at the shop and that he saw red lights on them but could not say whether they were recording at the time.
Earlier, State Counsel Marisa Edwards closed the prosecution’s case after presenting its witnesses.
Cornered by brothers, he fled “bad situation”
The defence attorney, Soraya Subersook, then called the accused, Andrew Seegobin, to give his evidence from the dock.
Seegobin told the jury that he first encountered Mingo earlier that evening at a supermarket in the village but left after being verbally abused by him.
He said that while heading home, he stopped briefly at a wake and later saw the Mingo brothers outside his home, claiming that one of them was armed with a cutlass and cursing. According to the accused, he decided not to go home and instead went to a nearby shop where music was playing, the same location where the fatal incident later occurred.
Seegobin said that shortly after he entered the shop, the two Mingo brothers also arrived. He told the jury that he realised he was in a “bad situation” and took out his phone and began recording with his right hand.
During his testimony, the accused showed the jury an injury to his left hand, explaining that because of the injury, he could not have used that hand to record the video.
He further told the court that since returning to Guyana from the United States in 2018, he had been repeatedly harassed and attacked by the Mingo brothers. He claimed that about a year before the fatal incident he had been chopped by Ramanand Mingo and left for dead.
Turning to the events of the night in question, Seegobin said Mingo approached him and began verbally abusing him while persons in the shop attempted to prevent the confrontation.
“He came and rushed to me. I push him, and he fall back on the bench,” Seegobin told the court.
The accused said he then exited through the gate leading to the private dwelling area behind the shop but was warned not to go to the front, as persons might try to kill him. He said he subsequently jumped a fence and left the premises.
Seegobin also told the court that security cameras were installed at the shop.
Following his testimony, the defence closed its case.
The trial of Andrew Seegobin for the murder of Ramanand Mingo opened on Monday before Justice Deborah Kumar-Chetty at the Berbice Assizes, where a jury was empanelled to hear the matter. The prosecution had indicated that it intended to call several witnesses to prove that Seegobin fatally stabbed Mingo during an incident at Amos Shop, Port Mourant, Corentyne.
On Tuesday, the court heard evidence from Government pathologist Dr Vivakanand Bridgemohan, who testified that Mingo died from shock and haemorrhage caused by a stab wound to the heart. The pathologist told the court the wound perforated the heart and said such an injury could cause death “very quickly”.
The trial continued on Thursday, and both the prosecution and defence gave closing arguments to the jury.