The Story within the Story…It will take more than a million grenades

Jun 12, 2016 News

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By Leonard Gildarie

Hours after I penned my last piece two Saturdays ago, dwelling on the death of Dale Andrews, a close

colleague at Kaieteur News, staffers were faced with yet another shocking incident.
Yes, I am referring to that report of a grenade being hurled at a vehicle used by Glenn Lall, Publisher of Kaieteur News.
Saturday, June 4th, 2016 will be etched in the minds of Kaieteur News staffers for those two incidents.
Dale has been part of the heart and soul of Kaieteur News when it took over as the number one newspaper in the country, during the early ‘90s. It was with deep shock that staffers progressed during the day and arrangements were made for wake to be held at newspaper’s office.
I went home, showered and returned shortly after 10 p.m. I parked behind Glenn’s vehicle and saw people waving wildly from under the tents that had been erected. I thought they were beckoning me. I came out and locked the car and one of the security told me a grenade is lying next to Glenn’s vehicle.
It was an eerie night. The rain was drizzling. I watched surveillance videos and saw a surreal play of a vehicle rolling slowly alongside the SUV with what appeared to be a hand throwing an object. The small car then sped away.
The area was cordoned off and police started their work.
One week later, we learn that the police have made tremendous progress and are likely to lay charges soon.
I am not sure of the motivation for that heinous attack but from indications, the intentions have to be much more than a warning. The pin was pulled from the grenade. It was found nearby to the unexploded live grenade.
I believe that it was the intention to send a clear warning to Kaieteur News.
There was supposed to be an explosion. It was clear from the speed that the getaway left the scene that the occupants wanted to be away from the area in a hurry.
I saw from footage that a woman was walking on the nearby pavement when the grenade was hurled. She had no clue. There were vehicles passing. Staffers of Kaieteur News were standing nearby. I could not but think of the damage the fragmentation grenade would have caused had it exploded.
I have been working with Kaieteur News almost nine years now. It has suffered several attacks in its two decades of existence. Its printery at Eccles was firebombed. Five pressmen were executed at the same site in 2006.
Months later, gunmen barged into the newsroom of the newspaper asking for Glenn, but left shortly after without doing anything except leaving staffers traumatized.
We saw our newspaper being overlooked and denied a radio licence.
The publisher and his wife were wrongfully targeted and charged for evading tax.
The list goes on.
There are several staffers whom I know have been with the newspaper from the beginning. They know of no other job. They would not do any other job.
Like Dale, they will probably die doing what they love.
Working at Kaieteur News is not a job…it is a love for them.
I could not help thinking of all the trials and tribulations of Kaieteur News when I thought of the people…the intellectual authors…behind the grenade.
I believe that police have the capability to solve this one.
The people who planned this act of terror…and that is what it is…have forgotten one important thing – they are dealing with Glenn Lall.
I have watched this man make decisions that I told him do not make sense and cannot be. He insisted and we found out later, that as usual, he was dead right.
He helped solve the Neesa Gopaul case and his doggedness helped in the arrests of deadly gang members who killed mall owner, ‘Boyo’ Ramlall, his close family friend.
There are many more cases, like a killer that sneaked into the home of a Montrose granny and bludgeoned her to death.
Glenn insisted the footage be used to identify the killer. A suspect was nabbed and charged shortly after.
For something like a grenade-throwing incident in front of his beloved newspaper and staffers, a direct attack, there will be no rest for the Glenn Lall I know until the case is solved.
There will be no rest for the rest of the staffers too.
This attack, make no mistake, is not an attack on Kaieteur News or Glenn Lall or staffers.
It is an attack on all Guyana.
We have not fought to be where we are to now regress into the dark ages.
The attack should be loudly condemned and the cowards who did this dragged from their holes.
One thing I am sure, for every Dale Andrews and Glenn Lall that falls, 100 more of them will rise.
We have made too many strides. Our people will not tolerate it.
It will take more than a million grenades to drown our voices.

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