Despite interesting news in Guyana last week, it is impossible to ignore the violent events that occured, following what took place at Linden on April 7 and 8 in which Ronaldo Peters and Keon Fogenay were shot and killed by the Police, Peters in the course of being arrested, Fogenay in protest disturbances. Sergeant Philbert Kendall has been charged with the murder of Peters.Last Wednesday Guyanese would have received with deep shock the tragic and brutal murder of three members of the La Cruz family – Waveney La Cruz, 50, the mother, Maline La Cruz, 25, and Sueann La Cruz, 16, the daughters – who were gunned down in broad daylight at their Watakabra home on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway by Ramzan Ramdial, the reputed husband of Maline La Cruz, who had been a victim of sustained domestic abuse of an extremely violent nature by Ramdial.
On the same day of the tragic deaths of the La Cruz family members, 11-year old Adrianna Younge disappeared at around midday while swimming in the swimming pool of the Double Day Hotel at Tuschen. According to a report in SN yesterday, searching of the hotel by the Police did not locate her but bymid-afternoon on Thursday she was discovered lifeless in the swimming pool which had been searched earlier, leading to the suspicion that her lifeless body was placed in the pool. A false statement by the Police fueled speculation by the irate crowd that had gathered about the identity of the killer and where the alleged murder of the child took place. Arsonists torched and looted the hotel, destroying any evidence that might have been available and set fire to the home of the hotel’s owner. Both were severely damaged. An increasingly hostile crowd gathered in front of the Leonora Police Station on Friday, setting fires, stopping traffic and cooking in the street. On Friday night they were dispersed by the Tactical Service Unit.
Politicians were among the crowds outside the hotel on Thursday, some commiserating with and seeking to comfort the family of Adrianna, and others making demands, expressing no confidence in the Police, calling for resignations and pontificating on who are the guilty persons. Unsubstantiated reports and speculation about the perpetrators were mixed with genuine pain and anguish at what appeared to be the brutal murder of an innocent child. The statement issued by the Police to the effect that Adrianna was seen entering an identified motor car quickly proved to be false. No explanation has yet been given as to how this report came to be issued. But it was probably the most critical element, along with the discovery of the child’s body in the swimming pool which suggested that she might have been in the building all along, that incensed the crowd and generated distrust for the Police. The Police already faces challenges because the political opposition to its leadership.
The reality is that there is no agency in Guyana, other than the Police Force, that is equipped to investigate crime. When the murder of the Henry brothers took place in 2020 and the blame was quickly placed at the feet of the PPP or its agents, and loud calls were made for a named, foreign, international agency to take over the investigation, it was the work of the Guyana Police Force that eventually resulted in charges. Similar calls, some more ridiculous than others, are being made, including that the FBI of the US, the Canadian Mounted Police of Canada and other bodies be given over the task of investigating. The pathologist hired by the Government from out of Barbados, with impeccable credentials, has been rejected by the family. While the Government cannot hand over the investigation of crime in Guyana to an outside agency, the President had undertaken to pay the cost of any expert that the family may wish to retain to conduct the post-mortem examination. According to a more recent statement by the Guyana Police Force the family of Adrianna has obtained the services of a pathologist who will arrive in Guyana on Sunday.
In this statement, the Police indicated that it has interviewed the employees of the Double Day Hotel and Bar who were on duty, that three ranks are under close arrest and that the Commander of the Division has been sent on leave. The investigations are continuing.
The killings that have occurred during the month of April, together with the deaths of two more motorcyclists, a group with what is now appearing to be a predictably short lifespan, capped by what clearly appears to be the murder of an innocent child, the investigation of which has been immediately tainted with suspicion, has created additional distress to family members, has attracted widespread sympathy and resulted in significant unrest. It is too early to draw lessons from the events surrounding the death of Adrianna save that those who have children, boys or girls, must take extra care with their safety and security no matter how old the children are and no matter the circumstances in which they are. A designated adult must always have a watchful eye. Children are by nature trusting and cannot easily assess danger, even if it disarmingly presents itself.