Man admits to killing friend in cricket match stabbing

A 2022 murder case stemming from a deadly altercation during a cricket match in Georgetown ended on Tuesday when the accused pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter at the Demerara High Court. Afzal Deendial appeared before acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh, where the murder charge was formally reduced before he entered the guilty plea. The State is being represented by Prosecutor Christopher Belfield. The matter relates to the death of 25-year-old Kareem Kayum, who was killed during a confrontation at the sporting event. Following the plea, Justice Singh directed that a probation report and a victim impact statement be prepared and submitted to the court on or before March 10 to aid in sentencing. The case has been adjourned to March 16.

The charge arose from the August 12, 2022, killing of Kayum, who was stabbed during a game of cricket at the Muslim Youth Organisation (MYO) ground at Woolford Avenue, Georgetown. Police had stated that Deendial and Kayum, who were known to each other and considered close friends, became embroiled in a heated argument during the match. What reportedly began as routine “name-calling”, common during cricket games, escalated into violence. During the confrontation, Deendial allegedly armed himself with a knife and stabbed Kayum in the region of the heart. Kayum collapsed at the scene and was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where he was pronounced dead.

The accused was later arrested and, during police interrogation, confessed to the killing. At the time of his death, Kayum, of Regent Street, Georgetown, was engaged to be married just nine days later, on August 21, 2022. Reports indicated that he had met with friends for the cricket match shortly after completing shopping arrangements for his wedding. Deendial, a then 21-year-old University of Guyana (UG) student from Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was initially arraigned before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and was subsequently committed to stand trial in the High Court.