Nina Grahame KC secures acquittal of her young client in joint enterprise A34 murder.
13 August 2024
Nina represented 18 year old Noraiz Kamal, the driver of the car involved in the A34 “Kingsway” murder of Sadiq Al-Lami in the early hours of 23rd January 2024. The deceased and the defendant were both driving powerful cars in the early hours; they travelled at speed along a section of the dual carriageway before simultaneously stopping at traffic lights where the deceased left his car and confronted the occupants of Kamal’s car. Three of Kamal’s passengers left his car, one armed with a large knife, and the violence between this group left Sadiq Al-Lami with multiple fatal stab injuries. These three passengers were convicted of murder.
Nina’s detailed forensic analysis of the CCTV footage along Kingsway revealed how Sadiq Al-Lami’s driving had contributed to the confrontation. She persuaded the jury that the fact that her client failed to extricate himself from a situation of explosive violence caused by others did not make him guilty of murder or manslaughter and he was acquitted of both.
Nina also stressed to the jury that the prosecution’s reliance on the “must have” narrative against this defendant (“he must have known/intended/assisted”) simply confirmed the absence of clear and reliable evidence.
This case demonstrates, yet again, the worrying reliance on a “must have” mantra against secondary parties in joint enterprise cases.
Nina Grahame KC led Damian Zelazowski of Tuckers Solicitors and was instructed by Tuckers Solicitors, Manchester.
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