Why is Mummy crying?

JAMAL “SHABBA” MOSES’ daughter celebrated her eighth birthday yesterday, the day after he was shot dead in Carenage. Relatives who did not want to break the news of her father’s murder to her on her birthday took her to school, where she shared cake and ice cream with her friends.

But the child has seen sad faces at home and has been asking why.

“She keeps on asking, ‘Why is Mummy crying?’, but no one wants to say why,” said a relative. “I don’t want to tell her on her birthday. Maybe tomorrow (Tuesday) I will tell her, but definitely not today.”

Moses, 28, of Upper Mt Pleasant, Carenage, was killed on Sunday around 7 pm a short distance from his home. Police said he was playing cards with two men when a man approached the group and shot him four times.

At the Forensic Science Centre yesterday, relatives told Newsday Moses had gone to the grocery but stopped off to lime with friends and gamble. After the shooting, the items he bought were strewn on the ground near his body. He was described as a quiet person who kept to himself. He was an offshore worker and also had a two-year-old son.

Family members said although he and the mother of his children were estranged, he did his best to provide for them and be present in their lives. His mother said he was one of five children and described him as helpful, loving and a very handy person.

She said he was given his nickname “Shabba” because from a very young age he would impersonate the Jamaican dancehall artiste Shabba Ranks whenever he heard his music. She told reporters she will leave her son’s killers in the hands of the Almighty.

“When I wake up he is the first person to knock on my door and call me. He made me smile even when I didn’t feel like smiling. Now I don’t have my son just because people don’t like people no more. There is no love anymore. They have no regard for human life. I think a dog will last longer than a human being now. I am not seeking any kind of justice, because it would not bring him back and it would not change the way I feel.”

She said he tried his best to keep away from criminal elements and that is why, for the most part, he kept to himself.

“He used to say he didn’t even want a friend of a friend with a gun.”

Moses’ killing was one of seven which happened over the weekend. The murder toll for the year stands at 30.