Misleading report triggers violent protest across 15 East Coast villages

Jun 29, 2022 News

– scores of people beaten and robbed, business places looted, vehicles torched

By Shervin Belgrave

Kaieteur News – A misleading news report by an online media house, the Guyana Daily News, is being blamed for triggering violent protests on Tuesday across 15 East Coast Demerara (ECD) villages.
Protestors began their march from Golden Grove, passed through the villages of Haslington, Enmore, Paradise, Enterprise, Melanie, Coldingen, Bladen Hall, Strathspey, Vigilance, Friendship, Buxton, Annandale, Lusignan, Good Hope and stopped at Mon Repos, although they were reportedly heading for Georgetown.
Roads were blocked with debris and burning tyres while scores of people were beaten and robbed. Market stalls and business places were looted and several vehicles were torched.
It all started when the online media house reported that a policeman, Kristoff DeNobrega, who is accused of unlawfully killing a Haslington man, Quindon Bacchus, 25, was released from custody. The Haslington man was shot six times earlier this month by the policeman during an alleged sting operation to seize an illegal gun.
Police had later debunked the Daily News report and stated that DeNobrega was never released and is still in their custody under open arrest. This, however, did nothing to halt the violence and robbery spree that would follow.
Family members had read the report and it led them to believe that they will not receive any justice for their dead relative because the prime suspect was free from the law. They decided to stage a protest early Tuesday at Golden Grove, ECD demanding justice and the re-arrest of the Bacchus’ alleged killer.
Kaieteur News was told that the villagers joined the family members in protest and made a public call for other neighbouring villages to join them. The protest actions reportedly started off peacefully with them walking down the East Coast corridor but then tensions began to rise as more persons joined.
Protestors blocked the Golden Grove public road with debris and burning tyres and at some point, a decision was taken for them to march to Georgetown.
Live Facebook videos began surfacing of protestors – some walking, others on motorcycles and scores on bicycles – heading down the ECD Highway towards the city shouting for justice.
MOB OF RIOTERS
A few police ranks who were on the ground monitoring them related to Kaieteur News that as the protestors passed through the villages leading to Mon Repos, they called on the spectators along the way to join them. The spectators obeyed and the crowd grew and suddenly turned into a mob of rioters.
As they approached Annandale, tensions were high and violence erupted. Kaieteur News understands that a supermarket in that area was stormed and looted. Vendors at the Annandale Market were attacked.
Police then reportedly moved to warn businesses to shut their doors and even sent word to vendors at Lusignan and Mon Repos markets to lock-up and go home. As the vendors were reportedly packing-up their goods, police prepared their riot squad and began setting up road blocks at Beterverwagting and Sparendaam. As Kaieteur News headed to the scene, gas station employees were rushing to secure their premises and supermarket owners were scurrying to close their shutters even as workers ran for safety.
Moments later, the violence increased and the protestors reportedly ambushed vendors and stormed business places at Lusignan and Mon Repos.
The Mon Repos Market suffered the worst – the atmosphere there was chaotic. Stalls were destroyed and some burnt even as vendors were beaten and robbed, and vehicles were vandalised and then torched.
Kaieteur News took safety precautions and then emerged to examine the aftermath. As reporters stumbled through the debris, one could be heard saying “Like an earthquake pass through here” and another commented, “This look like a scene in Afghanistan.”
There were burnt stalls, a torched minibus, and several vandalised cars with shattered windscreens that lined the roadway and debris could be seen scattered all over.
Robbed vendors were angry and could be heard cursing because of their losses and others could be heard sobbing uncontrollably. “We want the president come here now and see what dem do to ah-we, ah-we innocent, ah-we na deserve this,” shouted one woman as she spotted the cameras.
The vendors were eager to have their stories heard. One of the crying women, Melanie Veermootoo, told Kaieteur News, that when the mob attacked, all she could have done was grab her young son and run for cover. When the chaos ended and she returned to her stall, all of her goods were gone and her newly purchased car was destroyed.
In tears, the woman said, “I does sell fruits, toilet paper, rice, water, Xcel [energy drink], Guinness, beer, water, everything, this is meh stand (pointing towards her stall), chowmein, fruits…Everything they gone with.”
Pandanam Persaud, a businessman, who runs a Justice of Peace (JP) office at Mon Repos, had his car destroyed. He recounted that he was trying to remove it from off the road when the mob attacked.
“They were swarming in from both sides and I barely get to pull me vehicle in the corner deh and run into this building (pointing to a building nearby) to hide, over 500 people come in hay bai,” the businessman told Kaieteur News.
From his hiding place, Persaud watched as the mob, took a big concrete slab in the shape of a boulder and a piece of 2″x4″ wood to smash his car before vandalising it.
SEVERAL INJURED
Another stall owner recalled running to save a man’s bus from being torched and ended up being beaten and robbed of his apron filled with cash.
“Dem take away all me apron, tek away all me goods from meh stand and beat me with one wood with a nail,” he related.
He was not the only one that was beaten by the protestors during the chaos; several of the injured were taken away to seek medical attention in Georgetown. According to police too, one of their own was injured during the mayhem.
Others who were still at the scene showed Kaieteur News their ripped clothes and bruised skin but they were more concerned about a 44-year-old fruit vendor called “Buddy” who was rushed away from the scene, reportedly bleeding from his ears, nose and mouth after he was beaten severely by a group of men as they robbed him of $700,000 in cash. His minibus was destroyed too.
Speaking with Kaieteur News, one his friends, Lenny (only name given), who was at the time securing what remained of Buddy’s bus, said that the money stolen from him was to pay suppliers.

Courtesy of Office of the President

“People does bring goods for him so they were coming today and he come out with the money to pay the people them today, $700,000 they gone with all that,” Lenny told reporters.
Buddy was also robbed of his jewellery and, according to eyewitnesses, when the mob attacked, he had run towards his bus to secure the cash but a group of men spotted him and followed behind.
Even as persons shared their experience with this newspaper, police ranks were seen clearing the road and taking statements from those who were assaulted and robbed.
But vendors were visibly angry at the ranks for not making an attempt to protect them during the violence they endured.
One woman told them, “We call BV Police Station three times while being robbed and no one come, only Travis Chase (a journalist) and you know what he tell we, how y’all stand up deh by BV road. How y’all standing up deh suppose to save we?”
Later photographs surfaced of masked looters riding away on bicycles with some of the stolen items. Kaieteur News learnt that the looters stole fruits, fish, meat, provision, dry goods, beers, water and coolers filled with ice.
As the victims counted their losses, they were visited by President, Mohammed Irfaan Ali, and Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn.
Although the protest action had dwindled, later in the day this publication learnt that persons had resumed blocking the roads at Golden Grove and Enmore public roads. They were seen in live videos liming at the road corners while village women chopped up meat and ingredients to cook for the notably exhausted protestors.
As a result, the Home Affairs Minister announced that the East Coast Public Road between Enmore and Golden Grove will be closed until further notice.
Meanwhile, the Daily News Editor in Chief, Mr. Ronald Singh, who is said to be responsible for the misleading article, which triggered the unrest, has since been suspended with immediate effect.