Dear Editor,
The police’s claim of identifying the weapons the killers of murderous crimes used began to run into credibility problems about three years ago. Each time, spent shells were forensically examined by police technicians, the public was told that they matched the bullets found at a large number of crime scenes, including the killing of ‘Sash’ Sawh and his two siblings. The frequency of these findings engendered doubts in the minds of people because it appeared to Guyanese that the attackers were not only ubiquitous but extraordinarily trained people whose knowledge of Guyana’s geography matched the way we know the palm of our hand.
Commentators, opposition politicians and editors began to question the ballistic discoveries of the police. The obvious question was, are these findings an opportunistic trend to comfort the nation and to let the citizenry know the government is doing its work?
Few citizens believe that one group is responsible for the never-ending crime rampage. In the midst of this suspicion, there is an announcement that the diary of ‘Fineman’ has been found at a house he and his friends occupied at Christmas Falls. Another announcement followed – one of the youths shot and killed, allegedly from the gang of ‘Fineman,’ 90 miles from Christmas Falls, had in his possession, two bank cards belonging to ‘Sash’ Sawh.
What is the youth doing with the cards two years after Sawh’s murder? Only one explanation can hold – he liked the physical appearance of the items so he carried it in his wallet for two years. No other reason can stand up. The credits would have been closed by the banks the very day after Sawh’s death, so no money could have been obtained.
Should the police use the possession of the plastic as evidence that this particular youth was involved in Sawh’s liquidation? Does it mean he was one of the killers? I guess we will never know that because he is dead. I don’t buy this bank card story.
The police have not revealed where in the house the diary was found. Was it on top of a table in the living room when the men fled, or was it next to a bed? These details are important because it would indicate the state of mind of the men when they rushed out of the building. Normally, a diary is such a personal thing that one usually keeps it in a drawer in one’s bedroom or on one’s person in a handbag or knapsack. If ‘Fineman’ left it, then, obviously, there was no time to pick up any item in the house at all. It would appear that from the time bullets were heard at the lookout site, the men burst out, leaving everything in the house.
This is the first time a diary has been found in the dwelling house that the police have raided for wanted men. It would be interesting to know when the entries started.
Did they go back to four or five years ago? Did he begin his notes from 2008? The curious part of the book is that the police found the number of a woman who lived in Lethem. This is strange. Why would the diary not contain dozens of numbers? This is the kind of stuff you find in such a compilation.
For example, on day one, the writer would jot down the friends he/she called for specific purposes. On day two, similar entries would be made.
One would assume that once the police secured the item, they would have been in possession of a large number of telephone details and maybe dozens of persons would have been interviewed. But only a woman in Lethem was questioned. Does that mean that only one telephone number was written down by ‘Fineman’? This is hard to believe.
Next, the police informed us that plans of violent attacks were laid down in revenge for the shooting to death of the sister of ‘Fineman.’
This is an unnerving piece of information, the implications of which are extremely interesting
If the diary is real, then it reveals the shape of the mind of ‘Fineman.’ He believes that his sister’s death was not a private affair but was done in retaliation for the things he is alleged to have done. Therefore his response was to embark on a vendetta. One thing is sure about this book: it does not contain incontrovertible evidence incriminating other people since we have seen no daily swoops by the police.
It is logical to assume that if others were named in the diary the police would have moved quickly to arrest the people ‘Fineman’ had contact with. It is more than a week now since the diary was found and there have been no mass arrests.
This is indeed strange. Finally, Minister Rohee is quoted as saying those arrested are confessing. Let’s hope the confessions are torture free.
Yours faithfully,
Freddie Kissoon
