With a united call for justice, four children left fatherless after Leonora double murder
Updated: Sep 21
By Shemar Alleyne
The families of the two men who were fatally stabbed at Leonora, West Coast Demerara (WCD) in the wee hours of Saturday are still trying to come to grips with the incident, which has left four children without fathers.
Mohamed Kalameeden Nasir, 30, a carpenter, and Arvinda Roopram, 25, a construction worker, both from Stewartville, WCD, were stabbed to death during an altercation.
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) said that the incident occurred in the vicinity of the District Club at around 2:50h.
“HE JUST WANTED TO HELP”
Marissa Stephens, the 28-year-old wife of Nasir, recalled the events that led to her husband’s tragic death.
“We went to District [Club] and had a few beers. My boy [Mohamed] said he was alright and wanted to head home. Arvinda walked away to get a hotdog, but something happened at the stand,” she explained.
According to Stephens, a verbal altercation quickly turned into a physical confrontation after Roopram was accused of troubling a girl.
Nasir, trying to defend his friend, intervened, but the fight escalated, leading to multiple stabbings.
“The boy [security guard] who got stabbed was the same one who stabbed my husband,” she said tearfully.
Despite Nasir’s attempt to flee, he succumbed to his injuries in a nearby cross street. Nasir leaves behind three young children— an eleven-year-old, a three-year-old, and a one-year-old.
“It’s hard. Every day, they ask for their father. I can’t bring myself to tell them the truth. Our son already asked, and I told him his father went to work,” Stephens said.
The family had recently received public assistance and was working to improve their living conditions.
“He was planning to build a bathroom for us. We usually bathe in the yard, and the house leaks when it rains,” she said, describing her late husband as a “good person.”
“He never showed me or the kids a bad face.”
Nasir’s father, Mohamed Nasir, expressed his grief, struggling to come to terms with his son’s death.
“I can’t explain how I feel. My son’s life was taken in such a brutal way, and it’s hard to imagine him lying there with a big hole in his stomach.”
“HE TRIED TO DE-ESCALATE THE FIGHT”
Kesha Richmond, the wife of Roopram, is also heartbroken by the sudden loss of her husband, with whom she shares a two-year-old daughter.
Richmond recounted how Roopram attempted to de-escalate the situation but ended up a victim himself.
“He got the hang of it. He started to run away after everything escalated. After he attempted to escape, they ran behind him, straight to his car, and they [stabbed him].”
Richmond, a teacher by profession, first learned of the incident when her sister-in-law and a neighbour came to deliver the shocking news.
“I just ran out with whatever I had on, and we went to the hospital because we thought he was coming in the police car, but it wasn’t him,” Richmond said as tears flowed down her cheeks.
She added, “Then the police said it get a next guy in the trench, y’all could go see if that is y’all relative and we went. His brothers had to go search in the water for him and bring him out.”
Now, Richmond is left grappling with how to explain to their daughter that her father is gone.
“What I going tell her? That was her favourite person. She is a daddy’s girl more than anything. When she asks for him, I cannot tell her he is going to come just now. He is gone. They took his life. They took his life in the most merciless way. It wasn’t just a fight—it was premeditated murder.”
A CALL FOR JUSTICE
“Justice needs to be served,” Richmond declared. “He was just trying to stop the fight. They [the perpetrators] need to be held accountable.”
Nasir's father echoed this call. "It’s murder, plain and simple. The same way they stabbed my son, they should face the consequences,” he stated.
A statement by the Police Force earlier Saturday stated that Roopram, Nasir, and two suspects were involved in a heated argument that escalated into a scuffle.
During the confrontation, Roopram sustained several stab wounds to his body, while Nasir was stabbed in his upper abdomen.
The law enforcement agency also identified two of the suspects - Alex Amsterdam, also known as ‘Mario,’ a 28-year-old security guard who remains hospitalised in critical condition under police guard, and another man known only as ‘Terry,’ who fled the scene and is currently at large.
A black-handled ‘Rambo’ knife, believed to be the weapon used in the attack, was also recovered.
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