Luqman Abdishakur Ahmed, 30, has been accused of murdering Mohamed Farah with a kitchen knife at a North Melbourne apartment in January.

Court documents allege Mr Farah and three other Somalian community leaders went to the apartment, which belonged to Abdishakur Ahmed's aunt and uncle, after reports he was having mental health issues.

Abdishakur Ahmed on Thursday faced Melbourne Magistrates Court, where he pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Farah and was committed to stand trial.

Dramatic footage was played in court of at least five police officers with guns and shields storming the apartment while the accused man was still armed with a knife.

Prior to the alleged stabbing, the group of visitors had planned to read passages of the Koran, in a healing process known as "ruqya", to Abdishakur Ahmed, who had been "talking to himself" and was "out of his mind", according to witnesses.

One member of the group, Mohamed Muse, on Wednesday said Abdishakur Ahmed became angry all of a sudden and started brandishing a knife.

Mr Farah, he said, urged the others to stand back as he attempted to calm the 30-year-old.

"He said 'Luqman, take it easy - put the down the knife. We are here to help you,'" Mr Muse told the court.

Abdishakur Ahmed then allegedly stabbed the man to death.

Mr Muse also said Abdishakur Ahmed's mental condition had rapidly deteriorated after his wife flew to Perth in November to be with her family ahead of giving birth to their third child.

So worried was Mr Muse about his friend, who was "scared" people were coming after him and had begun "talking to himself", wobbling and frequently vomiting, that he took him home for a night to look after him.

"Just before the incident happened everything changed," Mr Muse said.

Abdishakur Ahmed's aunt, Maryan Tallan, said she hid all the knives in her home before the visitors arrived on the morning Mr Farah was killed.

Ms Tallan did not see the alleged stabbing.

But she heard screaming and tried to apprehend her nephew, who also attacked his friend, Abdullahi Moallim, after he grabbed the knife Abdishakur Ahmed was holding by the blade.

Mr Moallim suffered significant lacerations to his left hand.

"I saw him in the kitchen with a knife. He was holding it backwards - with the sharp edge backwards," he told the court.

"Everything was chaos."

Another member of the group which visited Abdishakur Ahmed at the apartment said mental health problems are stigmatised and not widely acknowledged in Somalian culture.

"People don't like to talk about it," he told the court earlier this week.

The man said Abdishakur Ahmed was "out of control" before the alleged murder.

Abdishakur Ahmed on Thursday also pleaded not guilty to a second charge of intentionally causing injury to Mr Moallim.

He is expected to face a directions hearing at the Victorian Supreme Court on November 10.

Australian Associated Press