The utter absence of justice in Guyanese society

Aug 06, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
There has been an unusual yet refreshing fracas which occurred approximately two weeks ago in the almost poverty stricken, but determined and industrious village of Good Hope on the East Coast of Demerara.
What happened? Well I’m sure that it has become public knowledge that the culprit, one of the persons responsible for instilling fear and traumatizing innocent Guyanese was reprieved and pardoned from any excuse of what has become justice in this slowly disintegrating land of ours.
A thief, while executing one of his regular ‘hit and run’ robberies in the area was caught by a few of the male villagers and given a fitting and well deserved dose of his own medicine as the villagers felt enough was enough. They decided they were no longer going to be taken advantage of, no longer would live in fear of seemingly ‘petty’ although armed and very dangerous criminals who roam the streets preying on anyone they wanted, no longer would succumb themselves to such an unfair and disrespectful fate.
Instead, they fought back. They took the situation in their own hands since, and rightly so, the police and entire justice system in Guyana are both ridiculously unreliable and utterly corrupt. Indeed, the police was summoned to the scene of the incident; however, it was eons before they actually arrived. The villagers did not murder the criminal; he died on his way or upon arrival to the hospital. They simply gave him what he had coming ever since the inception of his unlawful and lawless behaviour.
Even though the man was a criminal in every sense of the word, even though there would be no ramifications of all his actions, even though the ‘police’ and ‘justice system’ had failed the law abiding and innocent people of Good Hope countless times before there was no pardon here.
No, the men were arrested and harassed. They were told that they should have caught the criminal then handed him over to the police, the same police who had failed and disappointed them over and over again.
Who will call the police when the innocent is brutally murdered in the ‘comfort’ of their own home, when the criminal has both ignored and bypassed the barrier of a gateway and barbarically invaded homes upon homes: robbing, raping, murdering; only to leave the guiltless with no retribution.
Yes! The police were summoned. Yes! They carried out their mundane and superficial ‘investigation’. Yes! Nothing surfaced and this cycle continues multiple times over.
The gutsy and daring men of Good Hope performed a civic duty, they should have been thanked, instead, what did they get?
This is what we have become, a country unaware of the mere meaning of the word justice; a country whose foundation is built on corruption, bribery and malfeasance. A country gone to the dogs.
Jaine Doe

Gaining mileage from another person’s misfortune

Dear Editor,
I really felt disgusted after reading the letter of Robert S. Drepaul which appeared in Kaieteur News of Tuesday 3rd instant.
I cannot imagine that anyone would stoop so low in order to gain mileage from another person’s misfortune.
If in fact the person referred to in his letter has pleaded guilty to charges laid against him and will be sentenced on October 14, then it is quite clear that that person has accepted that he has done something wrong and has made up his mind to face up to the consequences of his wrong doing. In other words he is prepared to pay his debt to society.
He who is without sin let him cast the first stone. Robert Drepaul should know that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
The cricket stands referred to by him is of tremendous benefit to the people of the Corentyne, as thousands of people who attend cricket matches and other activities at the Kennard’s Memorial Cricket Ground are comfortably accommodated there.
What has Robert Drepaul done for the community of Kilmornock, where he was born and grew up, to Bush Lot, Corentyne? Absolutely nothing! Is it a question of sour grapes?
I wish to inform him that I have recently formed a Committee to manage the affairs of the Cricket Ground in order to ensure the Ground and the stands are properly maintained so that the Community can continue to benefit from the generosity of the person who built them. I must point out the construction of the two stands were done with the blessing of several members of the Kennard family and that the stands bear the names of several deceased persons, a commendable gesture indeed.
I doubt whether Robert Drepaul could have legally objected to the construction
of the stands.
I kept my peace for a long time despite several previous letters by him on the issue but it has become annoying, resulting in my response to his latest outburst.
There is another stand which he can repair and paint to commemorate the memory of his mother. It is not too late for him to do so.
I would close by suggesting that Robert Drepaul do some self examination of himself as he does not know how his days will end. I end by saying that a little learning is a dangerous thing.

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