1 year later: “We still can’t believe this really happened,” daughter of murdered Essequibo vendor 

“We still can’t believe this really happened.” Those were the words of Vidya Munilall as she reflected on her father’s first death anniversary.

Sham Munilall was murdered on January 10, 2020, by bandits who invaded the place he called home. Reports are that the man was in front of his yard having a barbeque with his family when three men,  one armed with a handgun and another with a cutlass, scaled the fence to gain entry to his residence.

The armed men attacked Munilall’s wife, Rita, who was at the front door of the house. Upon seeing this, Munilall confronted the perpetrators, but the gunman opened fire on him, shooting him four times about his body.

The trio then made their escape, while the injured man was rushed to the Suddie Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. But despite it being one year, his family still remembers that fateful night as though it was yesterday.

During an exclusive interview with Big Smith News Watch, Vidya said that on Saturday, the family visited her father at the place where he was buried. As for yesterday, the family sat and reflected on the memories they shared with Sham prior to his demise. They also lit a candle at the shot where he was shot.

“Well, we are trying to cope together as one and be there for each other together because depression is really hard to deal with,” Vidya said.

She added, “People tend to say that we need to ignore the past, but how can we ignore someone that used to live and be there for us because as a family, only the four of us used to go out.”

Reflecting on her father’s life, she recounted the many days he pounded the streets – in rain or sun, braving the odds to sell newspapers to put food on the table. “He is a very hard-working young man; whether it is rain or sun, he is going to make all the sacrifices to make sure that myself and my sister and his wife have everything in place,” a grieving Vidya posited.

Three persons have since been charged for Munilall’s murder and are currently before the court. And according to Vidya, these men have confessed to the heinous crime.

“The only thing that is bothering us is that if these boys had confessed to the act, why do you have the family wasting time going to court and sit and do nothing while we can occupy our time and do something valuable?” she questioned.