Court

Stabber Admits His Actions were 'Unreasonable' but Claims He Was 'On Edge' Due to Threats from Former Drug-Dealing Boss He Had Ripped Off
Tues 13th Dec 2016, Yellow Advertiser

THE MAN on trial for stabbing Basildon man Daniel Mitchell-Monroe to death has admitted under oath that his actions were not reasonable.
Joram Bakumanya, 22, denies murder, claiming he carried out the stabbing in self-defence.

He testified that Mr Mitchell-Monroe had been on his knees the first time he stabbed him, after being knocked to the floor as they fought.

He claimed that after the first blow with the knife, Mr Mitchell-Monroe got up and started coming towards him, at which time he ‘panicked’ and stabbed him two more times.

Prosecutor Andrew Jackson asked him: “He was 5’5”, you’re 6’2” - why didn’t you just punch him again and again until he stopped?”

Bakumanya replied: “I can’t explain why I did that.”

Mr Jackson said: “No, you can’t.”

Bakumanya told jurors at Chelmsford Crown Crown he had been highly emotional on the day of the stabbing, after his life was threatened by a drug dealer he had double-crossed the previous summer.

He claimed he had acted as a runner for the crack cocaine and heroin dealer – who he knew as ‘Belly’ – but had stolen £1,600 from him because he felt he was being ‘overworked’.

He said he had received word days before the stabbing that Belly planned to target his family for ‘revenge’.

Bakumanya said that just one hour before the stabbing he had told his mother to flee her home on the Felmores estate and had picked up a kitchen knife as he left her house.

Text messages retrieved from Bakumanya’s phone showed Belly had sent two messages threatening his life at the precise time he was involved in the incident with Mr Mitchell-Monroe and Miss Lewis.

Bakumanya also testified that he had been kidnapped, robbed and ‘almost raped’ in south London two days before the stabbing, in an unrelated incident.

Prosecutor Andrew Jackson said last week that Mr Mitchell-Monroe, 37, from Vange, was killed while trying to protect his 22-year-old niece, Armani Lewis, from an attack by Bakumanya, who was allegedly threatening to slap her because she would not give him her phone number.

Bakumanya told jurors today he had known both Mr Mitchell-Monroe and Miss Lewis in passing, having seen them in a pub they all frequented.

He claimed he had previously had Miss Lewis as a contact on messaging app Snapchat but had replaced his phone and lost her.

He said he spotted her in Basildon town centre on June 28 and decided to ask for her number – but she had ignored him.

He testified: “She didn’t even acknowledge me. She cut me dead, basically.”

Blaming stress caused by his personal circumstances, he admitted on the stand that he had become ‘angry’ with her and told her she should show him more respect.

He said being blanked had stirred up negative emotions he was already experiencing due to the alleged kidnapping and attempted rape.

He testified: “It’s like I felt the same feeling when Armani just walked past me. I just felt like someone had no respect for me and I was worthless.”

He testified that he had felt suicidal in the days prior to the stabbing.

When Mr Mitchell-Monroe intervened and hit him, Bakumanya said he had been left ‘shocked’ and ‘confused’. He said he had not initially recognised Mr Mitchell-Monroe and feared he had been hit by somebody connected to the drug-dealer, Belly.

He testified that even when he did recognise Mr Mitchell-Monroe, he feared he may have become involved in drug-dealing because he lived in Vange, where Bakumanya believed lots of dealers lived.

He said: “I was just trying to protect myself. I didn’t know whether more people were going to come. I didn’t know if he was involved.”

Mr Jackson said Bakumanya had originally told police he knew Mr Mitchell-Monroe was not involved in his dispute with Belly and that he had just been protecting his niece. In police interviews, Bakumanya said he had killed the chef ‘for no reason’ and wanted to go before a judge so he could plead guilty.

Explaining the comments, he said: “When I got to the police station I had a mental breakdown and the police knew and they took advantage of it. I asked for fresh air and all these things and they said, ‘No, not until you do an interview’.”

Mr Jackson said Bakumanya had never mentioned to police the alleged attempted rape two days before the stabbing. Bakumanya said discussing his circumstances with other inmates on remand had given him the confidence to speak out.

Mr Jackson said Bakumanya had had ‘two opportunities’ to run away instead of stabbing Mr Mitchell-Monroe. He also asked why Bakumanya had not simply produced the knife as a warning to Mr Mitchell-Monroe, who was unarmed. Bakumanya said he had ‘panicked’.

Judge Patricia Lynch asked: “Now, do you think your actions were reasonable in stabbing him?”

He replied: “No.”

The trial continues.

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