'Violent, brutal and cold execution': Man gets 17 years of parole ineligibility for murder

A man found guilty of what the Crown called an execution-style murder in Lowertown in 2022 received an automatic life sentence Thursday and will be ineligible for parole for 17 years.

In September, a jury in Ottawa's Superior Court found Yohanna Chol guilty of second-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Vuyo Kashe, 36, on July 15, 2022.

Officers were called to residential Clarence Street shortly before midnight, where they found Kashe on the ground.

He'd been shot seven times — all from behind — and died at the scene, assistant Crown attorney Heather Lischak said during her opening statement at Chol's trial in the fall.

"Police arrived within moments of the shots being fired. They tried to resuscitate Mr. Kashe, but it was no use," Lischak said.

"Around Mr. Kashe's body was his backpack filled with clothes, a pair of headphones, a drink container — but no weapons."

Knew each other

Police confirmed that the two men knew each other. A video entered as an exhibit at trial shows them together in a group on the steps outside a nearby church before the shooting.

The man identified as Chol leaves, and is seen pacing nearby streets in other videos.

"We have no evidence as to what was in [Chol's] mind as he walked around, and no evidence as to why he returned," Lischak said. "But we do have evidence that he did return."

Soon after, Kashe, walking north down King Edward Avenue with a friend, parts ways with his companion as he's hailed from across the street by someone the Crown posited was Chol. 

Shots can be heard on video a short while later. 

"One bang. Someone crying out. Six more shots. More crying out," Lischak said. "And then silence."

Justice Anne London-Weinstein accepted the testimony of one witness who said he saw Chol standing over Kashe as he fired the shots.

A nine millimetre, eight-chamber semi-automatic handgun was recovered: one bullet left inside.

Chol previously scheduled for deportation

On Thursday Chol sat in the prisoner's box in a collared shirt and looked off to the side, a cross in faded ink tattooed on his forehead.

Court records detail his lengthy criminal history, including assault, drug trafficking, theft, forced entry and failure to comply.

He had been scheduled to be deported to South Sudan as of 2021, but that decision was later stayed.

A Federal Court judge ruled that Chol, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, anxiety and depression, could be exposed to inhumane treatment or even death in South Sudan.

During sentencing submissions in January, the prosecution pointed out that Chol had been reminded in the deportation proceeding that he needed to address his mental health, and that he failed.

The Crown called the shooting a little over seven months later a "violent, brutal and cold execution," and requested 18 years of parole ineligibility.

Defence lawyer Joe Addelman had argued for 15 years of parole ineligibility, pointing to the "abject poverty" his client suffered while growing up and his time in a refugee camp.

Addelman spoke about Chol's turn to drugs and the development of his mental health issues. He also spoke about his client's future, saying the sentencing could reignite a push to have Chol deported.

'They both came to Canada seeking a better place'

London-Weinstein drew parallels between the lives of the victim and perpetrator at January's proceeding. Both were parents and immigrants who had experienced trauma and dangerous childhoods, and they were also the same age.

"The fact that they both came to Canada seeking a better place, and the choices that [Chol] made, which deprived Mr. Kashe of his life despite both of their backgrounds and the fact that they both have daughters [who] are exactly the same age — it's tragic," London-Weinstein said. "Tragic."

In her victim impact statement in January, Kashe's mother, Victoria Wellington, mentioned her son's smile, the love she still feels for him, and how, even at 36, he called her "mommy."

Kashe was born in a refugee camp in Tanzania, and she said she spent two days in labour.

"But he survived, to be brutally murdered by a monster who has no value for human life," Wellington said to Chol.

"I am tormented at the thoughts of his last moments."

Outside the courthouse Thursday, Kashe's sister, Cynthia Nathan, said she was pleased with the outcome but numb after years of pain caused by her brother's murder.

Prior to his final July night, she said, Chol had talked about wanting to better himself.

Nathan said Chol was playing God when he killed Kashe, a role he had no right to play. 

"[An] execution kind of killing — that's — I don't even have words for that," she added.