Wife recharged with husband’s murder after prisoner’s plea deal yields new evidence

More than five years after she was discharged in connection with the murder of her husband, fuel dealer Ramzan Alli, 56-year-old Mailaini Alli is once again before the court.
Police are relying on new evidence obtained from a prisoner who has entered into a plea agreement.
Mailaini appeared before Magistrate Teriq Mohammed at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, where the murder charge at common law was read to her in relation to Ramzan’s July 2009 killing.
She was not required to plead to the indictable charge, and was remanded to prison until September 29, 2026.
Attorney-at-law Bernard DaSilva, who represents Mailaini Alli, said the renewed prosecution follows statements obtained from Sadiek Mitchell. Mitchell was previously charged in connection with Ramzan’s murder and is alleged to have been Mailaini Alli’s lover.
According to DaSilva, Mitchell recently entered into a plea agreement and is expected to be sentenced at the High Court in Demerara in September.
The attorney said the statements Mitchell provided to Police following the plea agreement has resulted in his client facing the murder case for a second time.
The specific contents of the statements and the nature of the evidence now being relied upon by the prosecution were not disclosed.
Mitchell had previously been charged in March 2019 in connection with Ramzan’s murder. Following a Preliminary Inquiry (PI), a Magistrate found that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him, and committed him to stand trial at the Demerara Criminal Assizes.
During the earlier investigation, Police had alleged that Mailaini Alli was involved in a plot to have her husband killed, and had paid Mitchell $7 million to carry out the murder.
Mailaini Alli was first charged in April 2019, almost a decade after Ramzan’s death, after Police reopened the investigation. She was arrested in April 2019 at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) after returning from New York, where she had been residing.

Mailaini Alli spent approximately 20 months on remand while the matter proceeded before the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court.
However, in December 2020, following the conclusion of a PI, then Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, withdrew the murder charge against her, resulting in her discharge.
The renewed prosecution stems from the July 2009 murder of Ramzan, 50, whose body was discovered in the trunk of a rental car along Coldingen Railway Embankment Road, East Coast Demerara (ECD), on July 12.
Ramzan was last seen alive the previous day when he left his Good Hope ECD home.
Police had alleged that he was attacked while asleep before his body was placed in the vehicle.
A plastic bag was reportedly duct-taped over his head, and a post-mortem examination determined that he died from asphyxiation.
The investigation initially resulted in arrests in 2009, but those arrested were released due to insufficient evidence.
The case was later reopened, eventually resulting in Mailaini Alli’s arrest and prosecution in 2019. That case ended with her discharge in December 2020.
Mailaini Alli’s health
Meanwhile, Attorney DaSilva raised concerns about Mailaini Alli’s health before the court, informing Magistrate Mohammed that she is currently suffering from a number of illnesses. Medical documentation detailing her condition was submitted for the court’s consideration.
Following the submission, the court directed the prison authorities to ensure that the murder accused receives the medication prescribed for her conditions while she remains in custody.
The matter was subsequently adjourned to September 29, 2026, when the prosecution is expected to provide disclosure.