Last week, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, took umbrage at a United States International Drug Control Strategy Report. The report stated in parts, that the Guyana Police Force was the ‘weak link’ in the fight against money laundering and drug trafficking. It also implicated some government officials.
The Attorney General called on the United States to provide proof. The reality is that the United States does not have to provide proof. The police themselves provided the proof last week when they sided with a killer or killers to murder 11-year-old Adrianna Younge.
The police rather than spearhead a search of the Double Day Hotel, sided with the proprietor to keep people out of the hotel. Fortunately, the people spurned the exhortations of the police to go home. They maintained their vigil outside the hotel because as the father of the dead girl said, he knew in his belly that his daughter was in the hotel. His gut feeling was accurate.
Many things did not seem right and the police inaction was horrifying. Hours after the child disappeared and despite calls for more than twelve hours, the police refused to search the hotel. Then the girl mysteriously appeared in the swimming pool that was searched multiple times, according to reports, and was empty up until the time when the body turned up.
With the police presence, how was it that the police did not see the body being placed in the swimming pool?Subsequent social media posts purported to show a police detective with the legs of his pants and his shoes wet soon after the body was found. Then an individual who identified himself as Richard Singh and claimed that he was an employee of the hotel implicated a detective on the scene. He said that this detective placed the body in the pool then told everyone to remain calm.
Soon after, a fire broke out at the hotel. People claim that the fire was intended to cover-up the murder. It started in a room where the girl was believed to have been killed. The hotel has been destroyed. If indeed hotel employees have such knowledge why didn’t anyone come forward with the information? To compound the situation, the police have remained silent.
There have been reports that the hotel owner ‘owns’ or controls the police at the Leonora Police Station. In any civilised society where the rule of law prevails the hierarchy of the investigation agency would hold a press conference to inform the public of the progress being made. There has been no such press conference. There have been no reports of the police investigating any of the reports emanating from the hotel. At least, one would have expected to hear that the police questioned the detective who has been implicated.
Indeed, the police were accused of a cover-up. A report from the police communications department claimed that the police saw a close circuit television recording of the girl leaving the hotel in a vehicle. The police provided the colour, make and number of the vehicle. They arrested the owner of the vehicle but were forced to release him when the report proved to be false. The man is suing the police.
In the wake of the murder there have been vigils around the world. There have been vigils in London, Barbados, Trinidad, New York, Canada and of course in Guyana. There have also been protests, one outside Office of the President and another outside the police headquarters at Eve Leary. And while the autopsy was being conducted there were protests and demonstrations outside the hospital. One man was shot and died later in the same hospital.
The conclusion of the autopsy caused further uproar. Fires were lit on the streets; Chinese-owned supermarkets were attacked and at least one was destroyed by fire. The autopsy failed to determine the time of death but it confirmed that the child died by drowning. The question is whether she died in the pool or elsewhere. The pathologists say that samples are to be sent overseas for analysis.
The police are still saying nothing, perhaps because it is public knowledge that the people have no confidence in them. There is no word on who has been taken into custody except for those arrested for protesting. There have been bulletins for those accused of inciting public unrest. And the nation remains on tenterhooks. Many institutions were closed. Fear stalks the land once more because people do not want to be caught on the streets when there are protests.
This situation reveals how frustrated people are. The death of Adriana Younge has provided a catalyst for the violence that has been released. Indeed, there are people who simply want an occasion to take to the streets. The attacks on the Chinese businesses can in no way be linked to the death of the young girl. They may be explained by xenophobia.
In recent times these businesses have been growing all over the country to the extent that traditional corner shops have disappeared. Many say that the Chinese businesses have replaced them. It is important for the government to realise that all is not well in Guyana. The occasional handouts have done precious little to satisfy the needs of people. Guyana has so much but the people are getting so little.
