Granger rails against vigilantism, warns again of repercussions

By Svetlana Marshall

IN LIGHT of the recent cases of vigilante killings that have occurred in society, President David Granger had warned against the practice of vigilantism, saying that not only is it unacceptable, but can lead to serious problems in society.On the sidelines of the opening of Mining Week, on Sunday evening at the Pegasus Hotel, the President had this to say in regard to vigilantism: “We can’t tolerate that. We accept that citizens have a right to protect their properties and so on, but we expect people to be organised in Community Policing Groups. But we can’t tolerate vigilantism, especially when it results in the injury or death of anybody; it can get out of hand.”

President Granger’s comments come against the backdrop of two recent cases of vigilantism in which residents of communities took matters into their own hands and meted out vigilante justice to suspected bandits. In the first case, which occurred early last week, 37-year-old barber Roger Lovell, known for wearing a thick gold chain, attracted the wrong attention when two bandits on a motorcycle visited his North Ruimveldt home and attempted to rob him. One of the bandits reportedly acted as a lookout while the other made his way into Lovell’s home and woke him up by beating him with a gun.

The startled barber was questioned about the specific gold chain, but as the beating continued at gunpoint, Lovell used his bed sheet to wrap the bandit’s arm and tug it towards a window. This caused both bandits to be caught by residents and beaten severely.

“Police come here in time, because they would of dead!” one man said. “I never see thief happy to see police,” another resident noted.

Police recovered a .32 pistol and live rounds at the scene. Both bandits have been admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital, and one is reported to be in critical condition. Lovell has also been hospitalised.

Then police have said that 21-year-old Seon Clarke, aka Cash Money, a resident of Old Road, Land of Canaan, E.B.D., was killed in the Pearl Village, E.B.D. community at about 22:30h on Saturday when residents suspected him to be a bandit. Another friend of Clarke’s was severely injured after he also was beaten by the group of public-spirited citizens.

Initial investigations revealed that Clarke and another male went into a grocery store at Johanna, E.B.D at about 14:00h on Saturday, and were observed by the proprietor behaving suspiciously. The proprietor made his way to the public road and alerted a policeman who was passing at the time. The policeman responded, and in the process summoned other policemen. Clarke and the other man fled into the bushes, and during the search for them, two loud explosions were heard.
A search was conducted but they were not found.

At about 22:30h on Saturday, members of the community spotted the men on the Pearl Public Road and apprehended them. During that process, one of the public-spirited citizens allegedly shot Clarke and inflicted a beating on his accomplice.

The men were handed over to the police, who rushed them to the Diamond Public Hospital, where Clarke was pronounced dead on arrival whilst his accomplice was treated and sent away. This accomplice has since been taken into police custody, and is assisting with the investigation.

Vigilante justice has, over the years, been a common feature in Guyana. One of the more shocking cases occurred in May 2013 when Nigel Lowe was tied to a makeshift cross and beaten to death by residents. The incident had occurred following a spate of robberies in ‘A’ Field, Sophia.

Residents had allegedly caught 40-year-old Lowe and two “armed” men breaking into a house and had raised an alarm. The two men managed to escape, but Lowe was cornered in an outdoor latrine in a nearby yard. The man attempted to escape the residents, who by then had surrounded him and were beating him with cutlasses and sticks. He ended up in a house in the yard where the pit latrine was located, but residents pursued him and continued the assault.

The man was then taken to ‘B’ Field Sophia, where the beating continued. Lowe’s lifeless body was then tied to a utility pole and covered with pieces of wood as though residents had intended to burn the body. Some 30 persons were involved in the Lowe attack.

Shortly after Lowe’s death, a similar incident occurred in Berbice, where residents mercilessly beat two persons: 45-year-old Alfred Munroe, called ‘Guana Man’, of Ulverston, Corentyne; and 18-year-old Annie Persaud, called ‘Short Hair’, of Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, who had been accused of stealing from a businessman. Munroe was killed during that ordeal.

Police said in a statement that they had intercepted at Williamsburg, Corentyne a vehicle carrying Munroe and another man, and had found Munroe and Annie Persaud, called “Short Hair”, 18 years, in the trunk of the vehicle, tied with rope and with visible signs of injury about their bodies. They were taken to the Port Mourant Hospital, where Munroe succumbed to his injuries while Annie Persaud was treated and sent away.