After accepting a plea bargain agreement, murder accused Daywan Kawal is now serving as a witness for the prosecution against co-accused Bert Lancaster over the killing of a taxi driver.
Kawal, called Avinash, of Third and Nile streets, Grove, East Bank Demerara, was indicted for the murder of taxi driver Deonarine Sukhdeo. It is alleged that sometime between the April 19 and April 26, 2006, Kawal and Lancaster were involved in the unlawful killing of Sukhdeo.
In May 2010, Kawal became the first defendant to sign a plea bargain agreement, under which he became eligible for a lighter sentence in return for testifying against a co-accused.
As part of the conditions in the plea bargain agreement, Kawal admitted that he was involved in the killing but attributed the stab wounds that caused Sukhdeo’s death to Lancaster. In return for his testimony, it was decided upon that he receive six to eight years in prison. He was later given seven years, six of which he has already served at the Mazaruni Maximum Security Prison.
It was reported that on the morning of April 19, 2006, Sukhdeo left his Block X, Section B, Diamond New Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara home and failed to return. His body was discovered in a clump of bushes a short distance from his car, HB 3236, on a trail in Kuru-Kuru just off the Soesdyke/Linden highway. The body was in a state of decomposition.
Kawal was arrested on April 24, following investigations. It was he who took police to the location where Sukhdeo’s body was found. He gave a written caution statement to police on April 25, but did not admit to killing Sukhdeo. Kawal previously indicated that they had hired Sukhdeo to take them to the junction and the car had become stuck in the sand. A witness had reported seeing Sukhdeo in the company of Kawal and others.
Kawal took police to his Grove home, where he handed over the documents for Sukhdeo’s vehicle. He was also in possession of the man’s driver’s licence. Kawal had blamed the other accused for the four stab wounds which resulted in Sukhdeo’s death.
On April, 2010, almost four years after the taxi driver’s murder, Kawal’s attorney, Peter Hugh, wrote to the DPP proposing a plea bargain for his client.
At present, the trial is before the High Court, where a voir dire is being conducted regarding preliminary issues that were raised. Justice Dawn Gregory-Barnes is expected to rule on Tuesday morning and the matter will proceed thereafter.
