A former Aurora anti-violence activist took the witness stand Wednesday afternoon to tell his side of the story after being charged in a murder prosecutors say is rooted in revenge.

Both sides of the aisle were filled as 47-year-old Lumumba Sayers Sr. took the stand in an Adams County District courtroom, claiming innocence in the murder of 28-year-old Malcolm Watson at his son’s fifth birthday party.

“It didn’t make sense,” Sayers Sr. said. “I literally just watched my little cousin get gunned down. I’ve never been in a situation like that ever before in my life. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

The defendant faces charges of first-degree murder, two counts of felony menacing and two counts of tampering with evidence in connection to the shooting of Watson on Aug. 10, 2024, at a public pool in Commerce City.

Witnesses and arrest reports claimed that Sayers Sr. walked up to Watson in the pool’s parking lot and shot him in the head and torso, killing him. Witnesses then testified that Sayers placed a handgun near Watson’s body and searched through his pockets.

Security camera footage and recordings from nearby phones showed Sayers Sr. walk up to Watson, pull a gun and start stepping back. He then fought for the phone of someone recording and fumbled around with Watson’s body.

Sayers Sr. — a former MMA fighter and founder of the anti-violence Heavy Hands, Heavy Hearts Center foundation — allegedly killed Watson out of revenge for his murdered son, Lumumba Sayers Jr.

Both the prosecution and defense said that the gun involved in the shooting was a ghost gun that had yet to be found. Sayers Sr.’s personal gun, which was unregistered, was left on the ground and had not been fired.

The prosecution, led by 17th Judicial Deputy District Attorney Laura Anderson, questioned how Sayers Sr. didn’t know that he needed to register a gun with multiple police family members and a history in the military.

Furthermore, the defendant never told police that the gun on the ground was his, instead saying, “the gun is right there,” according to Anderson.

The defense, led by Megan Downing, has argued that a third person was involved in the shooting, a man called “Rico.”

Sayers Sr. backed up that idea on Wednesday, claiming that he went up to Watson, said hello, then heard another man say “What’s up?” before he heard gunshots.

Anderson claimed that Sayers Sr. never mentioned the third person speaking until today.

Other witnesses claimed to have seen Sayers Sr.’s daughter’s car speed off with a man in a tan tracksuit — allegedly Rico.

Security footage and police records said Rico and Sayers Sr.’s daughter talked to him at the car after the shooting, with Sayers Sr. allegedly handing Rico something.

Sayers Sr. said he had no issues with Watson and only had his gun on him because his work as an anti-gun-and-gang activist was dangerous.

Audell Thomas, the mother of Watson’s children, testified earlier in the trial that Sayers Sr. acted in revenge.

“He truly believed that he wanted revenge,” she said.

Thomas, a close friend of Sayers Jr., said Watson was cousins with a man connected to the death of Sayers Jr. on Aug. 19, 2023, at 28th and Welton streets in Denver. Thomas and Sayers Jr.’s sister were injured in the shooting, while 25-year-old Gulian Musiwa was killed.

Watson has also been noted as a friend of Tyrell Braxton, the man later convicted of the shooting.

On Wednesday, Sayers Sr. said he and Watson were cousins and had been friends since Watson was a child. He also said that Watson’s children came to his boxing gym often. Sayers Sr. even purchased the cake for the party, though he didn’t plan to go.

He said he and Thomas were like family.

“(Thomas) used to call me daddy,” Sayers said, with an audible gasp from the crowd on the prosecutor’s side of the room.

When defense attorney Megan Downing asked Sayers Sr. if he wanted to know who was responsible for his son’s death, Sayers Sr. said, through tears, “It’s not going to bring my son back. I’m not in the position of god to make that judgment. It broke me. I just want my baby back.”

Anderson questioned Sayers Sr. for more than two hours, pointing to inconsistencies in his story.

For example, though the defendant claimed he had gone to the party to see his daughter and grandchildren, he did not check on them after the shooting. He did not run, instead jogging back to the car.

Sayers Sr. said he saw his grandchildren running and figured they hadn’t been hurt.

Also, Sayers Sr. never ran, never told police about his daughter’s vehicle speeding away, and never said he didn’t do it.

“I didn’t think I was arrested for Malcolm being shot,” Sayers Sr. said, despite police bodycam footage of multiple witnesses saying he shot and killed Watson.

The defendant will take the stand again Thursday morning to continue his testimony, with closing arguments expected after.