West Berbician succumbs with bullet in his spine

Dec 08, 2009 News

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… Four years after being shot by a cop

For four years, Anthone Moriah sat in his wheelchair hoping that someday the cop that shot him would be brought to justice. But he never lived to see that day.
Moriah died on Thursday last with the bullet still lodged in his spine.
A post mortem examination revealed that the West Berbice resident developed complications from the bullet wound.

His shooter, a policeman, who was only charged with being in possession of the weapon that was used in the shooting, has disappeared.
Moriah’s family members are now preparing to bid their final goodbyes without any assurance that justice will be served.
His father, Calypsonian Gregory Anthony Moriah, popularly called ‘MMA Gregory’, who returned to Guyana to be a part of the final rites for his only son, broke down in tears at the Georgetown Hospital Mortuary at the sight of his son’s remains.
“I just had to wipe the tears from my eyes and let it go,” the distressed father told this newspaper.
On July 1, 2005, Anthone Moriah, then a budding 20-year-old construction worker was walking along the Number 30 Village Public Road, West Coast Berbice, when he was shot by an off-duty policeman.
He was rushed by his father to the Fort Wellington Hospital but his condition necessitated his transfer to the main medical facility in the city. At the time, Moriah was in the company of a female who was the subject of advances from the cop.
An eyewitness had identified Moriah’s shooter as the policeman. Police had even confirmed that the shooter was one of their own who was on leave at the time.
Moriah had never previously been in any trouble with the law and had not known the policeman prior to the incident.
“I never see this man before. If I see him now, I wouldn’t know him. I heard he told people that is not me he go to shoot, he took me for somebody else,” the injured man had told this newspaper in 2006.
The policeman was subsequently charged with illegal possession of a firearm after he was found with a .38 special revolver which was later revealed to have been stolen from the East La Penitence police station where he was previously stationed.
Further investigations linked the weapon to Moriah’s shooting, but the cop was never charged for that offence.
However, a Police Prosecutor in the illegal possession matter had told the court that investigators were probing reports that the weapon was used in other incidents in the Berbice area around the time that Moriah was shot.
The policeman later skipped the $25,000 bail on the gun charge and has never been seen since. All the while, Moriah sat in his wheelchair as his father walked off his shoe heels, seeking justice.
He spoke to the then police commissioner and other relevant agencies seeking advice.  He even paid lawyers to look into the matter on his behalf.
A letter was also written to President Bharrat Jagdeo, but the family only received an acknowledgement letter from the Office of the President. The now dead man’s father says his pleas for justice appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
“Look at the situation today. Where can I go and get justice? It was really frustrating to know that you explore all these avenues and there is no justice. All you’re hearing is that they cannot find the guy,” the elder Moriah said.
He believes that had the situation been the reverse, the police would have made every effort to find his son.
As a Calypsonian, he has written a lot of lyrics and the passing of his son under the circumstances led to the writing of another song, detailing the things he has had to endure while seeking justice.
A part of the first verse goes like this, “Why can’t we love and respect the rights of others? This is a question that needs to be answered. There is a war going on spiritually, mentally and emotionally. Today, as the war with words goes on, you have to be strong. There are lessons that are coming to our attention.”
The Calypsonian told this newspaper that leaving his son behind in Guyana, while he sought employment in the Caribbean was heart-rending.
And then to learn of his death last week was a major body blow.
“I was on a machine working and right away I had to down tools. Some of my colleagues came to my rescue. They asked what justice I got and what was going on in my country. They said ‘if it was over here you woulda get justice’ and things like that,” Gregory Moriah told this newspaper. He said that he began feeling unwell and subsequently he managed to secure a flight to Guyana.
Moriah thanked the people in his community on the West Coast of Berbice for the assistance they provided to his family throughout his son’s ordeal.
“There were times when I could not find the finances to provide my son with the things he needed and he would go out there and people in the community would support him. I love and respect them for that,” Gregory Moriah said.

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