A father’s plea for justice marred by a deep divide

Jul 03, 2022 News

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By Gary Eleazar

Kaieteur News – Guyana is a racially divided country which over the years has seen this ethnic division between its peoples descend into violence being perpetrated against those of a different race. It is a reality accepted by some but to this day, denied by others.

Guyana is a country in which there are six official races. Others appeal for this to be reconsidered to incorporate the ‘mixed’ population. In addition to the nation’s first people, the Amerindians, the country holds a large population of descendants of African slaves, Indian, Chinese and Portuguese indentured servants, brought to these tropical shores by European colonisers with their descendents also joining in to make up the diverse blend of people that exist within its borders.

International image
While this diversity is oftentimes promoted as an appeal, it is at times marred by bitter division. This past week was no exception when a violent mob attacked and robbed villagers primarily from the indo-populated village of Mon Repos on the East Coast of Demerara, at the village market in addition to others at Annandale.

Police are still investigating as the nation returns to some semblance of normalcy and political and other pundits philosophise.
What transpired this past week garnered international headlines, again for distasteful reasons for a country that has been working hard at reshaping its international image.

On Tuesday last, however, the world watched as chaos descended, leaving victims on all sides, including those injured at the hands of those looting and those hurt by the perceived indiscriminate shooting by police, as emotional trauma permeated the nation as it unfolded live, across various social media platforms.

Conflicting Reports
Not for a very long time did a sitting President, Prime Minister, Attorney General, Home Affairs and Public Service Minister, the Commissioner of Police and head of the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) all visit that section of the East Coast Demerara (ECD) within a spate of hours.

As perceptions, allegations, facts and other facets of the melee are addressed, one thing is for certain, and that is, there are many sides to any story.

Quindon Bacchus, a 23-year-old ECD resident was shot dead last month by a police rank, since identified as Kristoff DeNobrega.

The circumstances surrounding that shooting death are sketchy as best, since there are conflicting reports with some of the events surrounding the incident even captured on Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV).

The day after the man had been buried in a massive funeral that congested the flow of traffic along the ECD corridor for hours—owing to his popularity among friends—news circulated that the police rank implicated in the shooting had been released from ‘close arrest’ and placed on ‘open arrest’ leading to mistaken reports that he was freed from police custody.

This caused family members led by his parents to congregate in protest of the release of the rank they perceived to be their son’s killer “without being made to face the law.”
What obtained next, however, according to at least one key individual, has since been misconstrued by observers to mean it was the family that led a protest to the lower ECD with the intention of a racial attack.

“Look what they do your son”
Intimations to suggest this was the case had been making its rounds. Another sentiment openly expressed was the fact that this was a police killing and that the Mon Repos and Annandale residents were innocent and should not have been attacked.

Seeking to set the record straight with his perspective and vantage point of what transpired this past week, Bacchus’ father, Mr. Leyland Julius Bacchus, of 38 Nabaclis, ECD, sat with Kaieteur News where he explained the predicament with which his family now finds itself in, and what he describes as abhorrent treatment meted out to his homestead.

Recalling the day of the shooting on June 10, last, Leyland told Kaieteur News, “I get the news from a friend of mine saying to me if I heard what happen to my son.”
He said he was first told by the person that had reached out to him, “Is that he go to rob some chiney store and the police shoot him up, so I say this is craziness.”

The senior Bacchus said he called his now dead son’s mother who related to him “she heard something of the sort from some other source.”
According to Bacchus, on hearing the news, “I ran down to Enmore Police Station,” but “they couldn’t give me an answer on what transpired because I asked the police in the station if they heard of anything; they tell me, no.”

He was then told, “the fittest place for me to go is Cove and John Police Station.”
On his way out, “I met with Sergeant Fordyce, I asked him if he heard what transpired because I know him on a one on one within community dealings, he said no, he called the station and confirmed that there was some shooting.”

Bacchus said he was then told to check the hospital or the medical outpost “here in Nabaclis but while heading there, they said no such thing happened and I head to town.”
On arrival at the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, things took another turn.

The man said he was met by the young man’s mother who immediately told him “go inside the room there, go see what they do your son.”

Top Cop
He told this publication, “to meet him in that state half naked, no shoes, just a boxer shorts and his t-shirt, and I know like that’s not how he carry himself” was uncomforting to say the least since he was then told at the hospital “they just bring him here and leave him, the police bring him here and leave him; no information.”

According to Bacchus, though he is still to hear a word from the serving district commander of the Guyana Police Force, he did manage to meet with the Commissioner (ag), Clifton Hicken, shortly before his son’s funeral.

Commissioner Hicken, he added, made promises about the Police Complaints Authority investigating and said “give the system time, which it takes a process and stuff like that…I could say I talk to Mr. Hicken on a one and one and that was his promise but I never heard back from him since that day.”

This, however, would be the last communication and a further encounter with subject Minister, Robeson Benn, left much to be desired, according to Bacchus.

To this end, he related that, “Truly speaking, I have a listening ears, and this is what I was pleading for from jump.

You have a system which we all in this country depend on for justification, so you ‘gonna’ go there and expect the system vice versa to come and tell you something as a parent but nothing of the sort.”

This state of affairs continued, according to Bacchus, who explained that things came to a loggerhead on Tuesday morning when reports began to emanate that his son’s alleged killer had been released.

Misleading report
His reaction to that news, “to put it in words that was too crazy for me to deal with at that time; I see it that way.”

Compounding the situation, he said, “the thing is we were not getting the full idea what is the open arrest; people cannot get the full explanation from no police giving you some assurance that this man deh Brickdam (lockups).”

Believing that his son’s killer would not be brought to justice and was in fact released scotch free, the family decided to stage a protest. “We came out here the Tuesday morning, because we been appealing, I mean openly, Commander come and say something, this body come and say something, I said it openly.”

Speaking directly to what transpired subsequently on the lower ECD, he told this publication, family members and grieving relatives did not even head in the direction of the lower East Coast but in fact headed in the other direction reaching as far as Ann’s Grove before making their way back to Nabaclis.

It was during that time, he said family members learnt what had been transpiring at Mon Repos.

“On behalf of myself that’s not the cause that we go out there to represent or to vandalise no one stuff; we haven’t broken any shop or do any of those things.”

In fact, according to Bacchus, whatever implements used that he can account for including food stuff for cooking was given to them.

Bacchus is adamant the cause began with no bit of racial division and this was evident in the number of East Indian persons that stood in solidarity with them and had even donated to the cause.

“Even to some Indian people (who) go that way (east) say y’all use the thing because y’all need fuh get justice; friends of mine that are of Indian descent too. There was Indian brothers standing on the sidelines, nobody attacked them, bro the Indian dudes was with us in this crowd.”

According to Bacchus, “the true cry is for justice for my son and this justice is phases; like I had said before we are going to give them a Gandhi-style protest, peaceful but mean something.”

Condemnation
He was adamant, “I already from jump condemn these types of actions and this is in the public domain; I denounced it.”

On the matter of reaching out by officialdom to his family, Bacchus said he was perturbed by the actions of particularly Minister Benn.

Recounting his interaction, Bacchus said on Tuesday last when the Minister made his way to the ECD, at the time he did get to speak within the crowd to the Minister.

“I went up to him and said I am the father of the child and I even said Mr. Minister.” But according to the distraught father, the minister’s reaction to him was “not even a lil shake hands with condolences, I ain’t recollect none of that.”

Justice
Reflecting on the moment, Bacchus said he tried to gauge the Minster’s emotional response.

“I try to get his feelings about life and how he see it and if he feel my cry at this moment,” said Bacchus.

The man claimed that the minister instead questioned whether he (Bacchus) alone had children.

“I tell you, he taking away from the point there; is like me ain’t want see none of them boy because if the head of the stream dirty, you can’t go at the middle to get water; the man turn and ask me if me one get pickney.”

This, he said, will be the recollection that stays with him from his first encounter with a government minister.
He has since concluded that it is the State that is responsible for his son’s death and as such, the responsibilities to bring the killer to justice is with the State.

“Most definitely all responsibility in reaching out to you, finding out the financial assistance all these kinda things, send somebody to help calm yuh, never someone, but I am saying nothing, nobody, no high official has never to date speak to us; nobody has reached out.”

In future, Bacchus said, “the terminology of justice have phases in my view of things, the evidence is right there, let’s do this the way it is supposed to be done, bring the guy, charge the individual and then what next.”

He was not a bird, Bacchus said in reference to his now dead son and was adamant, “it was the State that did it.” Nevertheless, the man said that he is still open-minded and is yet hopeful that the system would deliver justice saying, “I am still willing to listen.”

 

 

 

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