The Verulam man was sentenced to three years of correctional supervision.
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A young Verulam man, who pleaded guilty to “accidentally” stabbing and killing his grandfather during an altercation, has been sentenced to three years of correctional supervision, which includes house arrest.
Hamza Ally, 21, of Lotusville, was arrested and initially charged with the murder of his 76-year-old grandfather, Shaik Goolam Ally Shaik Mohammed, and attempted murder of his father, Zameer Ally, in January 2024.
However, he pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide in the Ntuzuma Regional Court last Thursday. He pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of his father.
In his plea statement, read out by his attorney Faizel Kara, Ally said he did unlawfully and negligently cause the death of his grandfather by stabbing him with a knife on his body.
He said he was at his home on the night of January 13, 2024, and that it was raining.
Ally said due to the heavy downpour, the storm water overflowed into their home.
He said his father called him to assist with removing the water from inside the house and he complied but he had used a cup for this purpose.
“My father spoke harshly to me and requested I use a plate instead of a cup.”
Ally said he and his father got into an “unnecessary” argument, which then became physical between them.
“We both saw the knife on the kitchen counter and we reached for it simultaneously. My grandfather came between us to separate us. He was accidentally stabbed, whilst I was holding the knife.”
Ally said he had the knife in his hand at all given times, but his actions were not intentional against his grandfather.
“I verily believe I stabbed the deceased accidentally whilst he was separating myself and my father during our scuffle. I had no direct confrontation or animosity towards the deceased and therefore had no reason to attack without cause.”
Further in his plea, Ally said that he had spent a lot of time with his father, mother, Yasmin, and grandmother, Farida Mohammed, begging for their forgiveness for his “negligent and irresponsible” behaviour.
“My parents and grandmother visited me on a regular basis whilst I was detained at Westville Prison. Since my release on December 4 in 2024, I am with my family almost every day.”
Ally added he was remorseful for his actions and asked the court to afford him mercy and compassion.
Kara further brought an application to dismiss the attempted murder charge which was granted.
State prosecutor Kaystree Ramsamujh, said the State’s intention was to prove the murder and attempted murder charges and called two witnesses, Ally’s parents to take the stand.
However, in a turn of events, they both testified that they did not recall the events of the night due to the trauma they had undergone.
They further testified that they had forgiven “their child” and wanted to move forward with their lives and did not want to proceed further.
Thereafter, Ally was found not guilty of attempted murder and guilty of the alternate charge of culpable homicide.
In handing down sentence, Magistrate Mohammed Motala said sadly, Ally would have to live with what he had done for the rest of his life.
"No punishment that I can impose will be a bigger punishment than this because from what I gathered and from the support you got in court, is that you are a very close-knit family, you lived as a united family, you were always together, and the most senior family member’s life was taken at your hands…
"I am sad that you are before me today. I need to impose some kind of punishment based on what you were found guilty of, culpable homicide. Had it been more drastic than that, you would have been facing a much harsher punishment. That consequence is also largely as a result of the forgiving nature of your parents, who have embraced you and accepted you back into the home,” he said.
Motala said it was an unusual crime.
“I accept that it is unique. It is not something that comes to us everyday, where a grandchild is facing a conviction relating to the death of his or her grandparent. I also accept that this is not what one can term as the manifestation of the decay in society, the disrespect and often the abuse that elderly people are subjected to. This is not one of those cases. You have not been brought up this way. You have been brought up with values, which would have taught you to respect your elders.
“Having said that, you have to be punished. There is no question about that because no society will accept otherwise. Even in the circumstances there has to be punishment. I now have the task of imposing that punishment.
“I accept that you are a very young man, 21. Going forward you will probably have the support of your family. At some point you will have a family of your own. All of these factors are important when determining a sentence to be imposed,” he said.
Motala added that Ally had no previous records and had shown remorse throughout his several appearances in court.
He said Ally was also incarcerated waiting trial for almost 11 months, which was an important consideration.
“It could not have been easy considering the prison conditions in this country.”
Taking all the factors into consideration, Motala sentenced Ally to three years of correctional supervision.
He is allowed to fulfil his employment duties from Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays, between 6am to 6pm, obtain medical treatment, attend religious activities/commitments and programmes to be determined by the commissioner of correctional services or the duly delegated committee or officer authorised to supervise his sentence.
As part of his correctional supervision sentence, he also has to render community service for a period of 16 hours per month for three years. This would also be determined by the commissioner of correctional services or the duly delegate committee or officer.
In addition, he has to reside at a fixed address, remain in fixed employment, and refrain from consuming alcohol or prohibited drugs.
He was further sentenced to five years imprisonment which was wholly suspended for a period of five years on condition that he is not convicted of culpable homicide during that time.
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