Albouystown Murder 1959

Nov 28, 2024 Letters

Dear Editor,

During 1959, one of the biggest manhunts in the annals of the Force was carried out. The hunted man, twenty-two-year-old Clement Cuffy, died soon after capture. Cuffy first came to the attention of the authorities when, with a friend, he attempted to rob a post office at Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara. This attempt ended with a shootout with the police.

His accomplice, Leslie Da Silva was caught, but Cuffy escaped after wounding one man. Soon after, a pretty teenage girl, Kumarie Singh was blasted to death in her bedroom in another robbery attempt that was accredited to Cuffy. This happened at Supply, Mahaicony and a double-barrelled shotgun was used. Cuffy then transferred all his fearful activities to the West Coast Demerara, East Bank Essequibo areas now using a stolen 22 Winchester and describing himself as “General Satan”.

After terrorizing the villagers along the twenty-four-mile coast-line, the police were able to pin point Cuffy’s activities in a certain area. On the 5th September, 1959 Cuffy was cornered by armed policemen at Naamryck Village, East Bank Essequibo.

On reaching about sixteen feet from Cuffy’s hideout, the police called on him to surrender, but instead of doing so, Cuffy shot his way out killing Detective Constable 4753 Chester and seriously wounding Cpl. 4633 Edgar Benn and Detective Constable 5958 Bhagwandat Singh.

Cpl. Benn succumbed later in hospital, but Singh survived. Assistant Commissioner David Rose (later Governor General of Guyana) and Constable 5134 Sampson (now Detective Senior Superintendent) miraculously escaped death when Cuffy opened fire on the police party. One of his bullets pierced Sampson’s felt hat.

After the confrontation, Cuffy plunged into a bushy swamp and escaped leaving behind seven hundred rounds of .22 ammunition, enough food for a few weeks, three quarters carton of lighthouse cigarettes, a diary and other personal belongings.

Fear was now countrywide as the police proclaimed Cuffy “Public Enemy No.1” and posted a $500.00 reward for information leading to his capture dead or alive. A large-scale search was then undertaken under the leadership of David Rose, but Cuffy was not to be daunted. He received full reports of the police progress from a radio he stole from a villager.

The police search party depended on reports from villagers who had met with the killer.

On Tuesday 8th September, Samshundai, an aged foreman of Estate Labourers, was held up at a gunpoint by the fugitive aback of Le Destin, three miles from Parika and ordered him to put down his saucepan with his lunch and to walk into the bush.

Samshundai obeyed, but as soon as he was out of sight, he ran bare-footed to the road. He then caught a car and dashed to the police with his information. Though only a few days before such a report led the police to an empty house, the police still treated the information urgent. Immediately, a radio message was transmitted to the Division Headquarters at Leonora and a party of twenty-four armed ranks under Police Officer Neil Isaacs and Deryk Mc Leod were rushed to the area.

Samshundai led the police party to the scene, but halfway through the action, he had to be taken home suffering from fever and shock.

Later the day, farmers aback of Pin Ruby came face to face with the hunted man dressed in a jute-bag suit. The information was flashed to Leonora and Crime Chief David Rose dashed out at the head of a thirty-six-man police party to reinforce Neil Isaacs party cordon was thrown over a two-mile radius and, in a pincer, movement started to close in on the area where Cuffy was last seen.

About 6:15 p.m., some Riot Squad men under David Rose saw Cuffy coming out of a cassava farm. When he was about twenty feet away, Cuffy aimed his gun at Constable Maurice Williams. Constable Neville Sue, who was in his company shouted a warning to Williams then taking aim, shot Cuffy in the right hip with his rifle. Cuffy fell, but still held on to his semi-automatic weapon which had four live rounds in it.

He only dropped it when Sue stood menacingly over him. Cuffy who also had two sceptic gun-shot wounds from the shoot-out the week before, died thirty-five minutes later at the surgery of Dr. “Tussie” Wills at Leonora. The reward of $500.00 went to Samshundai.

Sincerely,

Frank De Abreu

(Albouystown Murder 1959)