Quarrel over camels leads to shepherd\'s death

A shepherd claimed in court Wednesday he was defending himself and didn't intend to kill his cousin when he quarrelled with him over buying and selling camels. Prosecutors accused the 24-year-old Sudanese shepherd, S.A, of premeditated murder of his cousin, M.A, by stabbing him twice in his chest. "Yes I killed him," S.A. said when he first appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance. "Are you saying you killed him? Did you mean to kill him or you had a fight over selling and buying camels? Isn't he your cousin?" Presiding Judge Maher Salama Al Mahdi asked S.A, who seemed confused and afraid when he stood in the dock. The defendant then said: "We had a fight over the camels. I didn't mean to kill him… but he pushed me and I fell down on the ground. Then I stood up and defended myself. Then whatever happened… happened." Article continues below According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said S.A. took out a pocketknife from his kandora and deliberately stabbed M.A. after a financial dispute. ‘Rushed to the spot' Another Sudanese shepherd, identified as M.O, told the court he was 100 metres away from the suspect and the victim when they started fighting at a farm off the road. "As soon as I saw them fighting, I rushed to the spot to stop them from fighting. When I reached the site, it was too late… M.A. was down on the ground. Meanwhile S.A. stood there with a knife in his hand. The victim was holding his belly as he bled severely. I put his head on a small rock while he was taking his dying breaths. Our friend, S.O, came and kept hold of the defendant and took the knife away from his hands," M.O. claimed to prosecutors. A paramedic pronounced M.A. dead at the scene. The court will assign a lawyer to defend the suspect when it reconvenes on February 22.                                                     From gulfnews