A West Berbice family is frustrated over the constant delay the court is having in arriving at a decision some 700 days after a nine-year-old student was stuck down and killed by a speeding driver.
The child, Nifran Nizamdeen, was killed on November 26, 2019 along the Bush Lot public road, West Coast Berbice (WCB), and 23-year-old Ramesh Sewlall was subsequently charged for the fatal accident, but the court is yet to pronounce on the matter. The frustration of this family has been prolonged after the case was called on Thursday at the Fort Wellington Magistrate’s Court, but was again postponed until December 29, 2021.
“My concern is that, every time I go to court, they give me a new date. We are not getting any satisfaction, and no proper information as to what they are doing! Today is 760 days, and we are not getting any justice,” Ramzan Nizamdeen, father of the child, told Guyana Times.
“When the Magistrate is not turning up, the lawyer is not turning up. I do not know what is really prolonging the case, it is just to give the verdict, and six times it has been called and there is no verdict given. It (has been) throwback again for the 29 of December,” the frustrated man related.
Asked if they were given a reason for yet another postponement, he replied in the negative. “The Magistrate just put a new date, and that’s it,” he iterated.
On Thursday, the accused was present in court, but his legal representation was not. It was reported that, 13 days after the fatal accident, the Police instituted charges against the then 21-year-old, but he was granted bail by Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh in the sum of $500,000.
It took more than one year for the trial to commence.
The life of the former Latchmansingh Primary School student was snuffed out while he was in the company of his mother and sister. They were reportedly making their way home from school on that fateful day. The now-dead child was reportedly struck by a speeding motor car bearing registration number PPP 7721. His sister Assiyah Nezamdeen, eight years old at the time, and his mother Parvatie Babulall were critically injured following the accident.
It was reported that another parent had gone to collect her two children from school, and was standing in the corner along with Babulall, her child, and others when they were struck by the speeding car.
After the collision, the young Nezamdeen was dragged for some distance, and ended up under the vehicle as it came to a halt partly submerged in a trench.
After some time, the lad was eventually pulled from under the bumper and rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
