Self-confessed murderer appeals life sentence

Akeem Haymer, one of the two men sentenced to life imprisonment after confessing to the January 2017 killing of Leopold Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown mason – 43-year-old Rawle Rodrigues, has filed an appeal against his sentence at the Guyana Court of Appeal.

Haymer called “Curry” and Affiba Yenkana, called “Dugla”, both in their early 20s, were initially jointly charged with the capital offence of murder. Their trial had already started when they opted to plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter at the High Court in Demerara.
As such, Justice Sandil Kissoon directed the jury to return a not guilty verdict for both of them on the lesser count. They were each sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
Reports are that on January 20, 2017, Rodrigues was stabbed multiple times to his chest by three men who attempted to rob him at the route 32 minibus park in Georgetown. It was previously reported that the men had trailed Rodrigues from a nearby bar, where he was seen consuming alcohol with friends.
When asked by Justice Kissoon if he had anything to say before sentence was passed, Yenkana expressed, “I am really sorry how this thing happen. Like I don’t know what more to say right now. I am really sorry about what the deceased’s family has to go through right now”.
“I am sorry how things happen. This is the first time this happened, and it won’t happen again. I am begging the family for mercy. I am begging them to be lenient with me. I am begging the whole court to see with me. I didn’t waste the court’s time,” Haymer said.
The High Court Judge, in his sentencing remarks, highlighted that even though Yenkana and Haymer were previously convicted and served time in jail for armed robbery and theft, they still elected to resort to a life of crime. Importantly, the Judge pointed out that the young men have demonstrated a reluctance and unwillingness to reform and have established robbing people as their “chosen occupation”.
“You two came out to do your line of work, your chosen occupation and profession of crime in what was a planned criminal course of action to rob by violence…You set about to extract from citizens in the area of their earnings, their wages, their property, or any monies they had in their possession.”
While noting that Yenkana and Haymer had an accomplice, Wayne Gilbert, who was also committed to stand trial for Rodrigues’ murder, Justice Kissoon said they could have easily subdued the now-dead man without violence. But because of their premeditated design to obtain money criminally from unsuspecting citizens, they deliberately armed themselves with a deadly weapon, the Judge said.
Given the prevalence of murders/robberies, Justice Kissoon stressed that the sentence imposed by the court must be one of sufficient deterrent effect to contain those who may have like or similar intentions.