Criminality has returned with a vengeance under the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) regime. We are witnessing an escalation in white collar crime, government excesses and extra judicial killings; the return of criminal activities on the ground, such as brazen gun violence much of which are associated with the underworld. Finding the criminals is not just about who committed the crime but finding the engineers and architects of the crimes.
The killing of Royden ‘Smallie’ Williams at the hands of the police, even though a convicted criminal and many may find relief in his death, has left us none the wiser as to his contact, modus operandi, and those with whom he associated with, leading up to and after his escape.
And whilst the families, whose loved ones were murdered at the hands of Williams, may find some solace from his death, all should be reminded of the sage advice of the late former Chancellor of the Judiciary, and Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Keith Massiah, S.C.
In his 2005 Minority Report on the Gajraj Commission of Inquiry into the phantom squad killings he had this to say:
“Killings, however reasonable and expedient in the opinion of many persons of goodwill, ought not to be countenanced. Even the alleged serial killer, the persistent rapist and the paedophile, detestable as those pariahs are, enjoy the fundamental right to a fair hearing and the full protection of due process. Persons who are thought to have committed crimes must be arrested, charged and tried in a court of law. Nothing less can be accepted.”
In case of the escapee, the state had a duty to capture him alive. There is no additional crime fighting gains killing Williams, besides the satisfaction some might feel seeing his dead body on the ground.
Dead men tell no tale and what society has been served to placate concerns about the escapee’s whereabouts and how he managed to escape, was his head on a platter. We are back in the barbaric and medieval times. We are in deep dangerous water that will spare no one from its powerful and treacherous current.
We have now reached the point where questions need to be answered as to whether the government and police force have any intention in fighting crime through a process of collecting evidence rather than destroying lives that can help generate evidence.
We are seeing the people who were pulling the levels of power, both in government and private sector, during the crime spree of post- 2002 jailbreak, are once again influencing outcomes.
Williams’ escape has all the hallmarks of a well-orchestrated crime backed by strong financial support. The time has come where the government must stop sacrificing the poor class of people to cover the sins of the moneyed class, the well-connected, their friends and cohorts.
The action of the Joint Services is clear indication they set out to kill ‘Smallie’ and others, while the state paraded prison wardens in the court as accomplices to his escape. One can conclude, from this exercise, that the demise of Williams is a collusion from the highest political level in collaboration with the Joint Services and other interested parties.
We must continue to demand answers from the Joint Services and Government of their crime fighting techniques that only add further trauma and gruesomeness to our society with no deep-rooted answers and plan to improve on crime prevention and de-escalation.
The Government of Guyana is yet to implement the numerous recommendations, from various credible reports, to improve crime fighting and prevention, suggesting they are most comfortable functioning in a society traumatising the nation and creating fear. They ignore the aged-old wisdom that violence begets violence. What the PPP is doing is breathing hardened criminals which doesn’t help the decent law-abiding citizens in society.
We must hold them accountable to manage the affairs of state in a manner that would ensure the safety and security of us all.
