As violent attacks continue to rock the prison system, Opposition Leader David Granger laid the blame squarely at the feet of Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, whom he described as weak, distracted and not concerning himself with the many problems that are occurring in the country’s prisons.
So far for this year there have been five reported cases of violence in the prison, two of which ended in death.
Concerns have been continuously raised as to how prisoners are managing to have access to illicit items such as knives, cutlasses and acid, and why even though there are investigations after each attack and sporadic search exercises, the lawlessness continues.
“The Minister of Home Affairs is weak. The minister himself is more concerned with general elections. He is more concerned with birth certificates. He is more concerned with Gecom. He is not paying attention to his portfolio. He does nothing about the prison system. He does nothing about piracy. He does nothing about the murders. He does nothing about effective policing…” Granger told Stabroek News in a recent interview.
When the leader of the parliamentary opposition was asked for his views on the general state of the country’s prison system he said it is “decrepit.” He said that some of the buildings in the prisons were built many years ago and he singled out the main buildings at the Mazaruni, New Amsterdam and Georgetown Prisons. “They [the buildings] are unsuitable for modern incarceration,” he said.
He stated that it is a known fact that the prison population has exceeded the capacity of the three prisons he had earlier mentioned. According to him, the Georgetown Prison probably has the worst instance of overcrowding. Granger made the point that the holding arrangements for prisoners are also inadequate.
“We have been promised renewal but it is not a priority for the government,” the opposition leader told Stabroek News adding that persons being housed under the conditions he outlined will always have social problems.
He mentioned that in previous years prisoners took to the roof tops, actions which led to the February 2002 prison jailbreak. He said that some of the persons who broke out were among those persons who protested on the roof tops about conditions in the Georgetown Prison where they were being held.
He said that the criminal justice system is very slow and many persons who are held in the prison are remand prisoners, which “aggravates the problem.” He added that the justice system cannot dispose of cases quickly enough even though some are related to minor offences, which again puts pressure on the prison system.
Funding problem
Granger stated that the prison system is also suffering from a funding problem. He said it costs about $250,000 to look after one prisoner annually. “It is a very expensive undertaking having such a large prison population,” he said.
He added that the land resources at the Mazaruni Prison have not been fully exploited to engage prison labour in the production of food. He said his information is that the Guyana Prison Service is far from self-sufficient in terms of food production and as a result of this it is burdensome to maintain the present prison population.
Granger added too that the system has not been able to provide rehabilitation for prisoners and as a result, at the end of their sentences most convicts cannot find employment and they end up committing offences again. “We need to take a holistic look at the prison service. The decrepit state of the existing prison, overcrowding, the lack of an educational and occupational programme which could actually generate money for the prison sector and some way of preventing convicts from returning to the system…”
He said he is not surprised that the agencies and elements falling under Rohee are not functioning. “That is why we brought the motion against him over two years ago,” he said.
Questioned about whether he is concerned with the way incidents of violence in the prisons are being handled, he said that the ministry is weak and incapable of dealing with the problems that are occurring in the prison service as well as in the police force and CANU. Told that often times after these incidents, the media are told that the matter is being investigated but in the end there is nothing to show that changes have been made to correct the situation, Granger said he is not surprised, but “you cannot get any better
performance out of that ministry.”
Granger added that because Rohee “is a weak minister,” these issues are not being addressed. “I can’t say more than that…” he said, adding that the start of public security reform is the removal of Rohee from office. Next he said, a strategic plan for all three of the services have to be implemented. “It is important to have a minister who is serious about implementing those plans…” Granger added.
He said that based on what he has been seeing, it does not appear to him that the major reforms which were recommendations of the Disciplined Forces Commission (DFC) have been implemented, one of which involved the construction of a new prison. Granger said former minister Ronald Gajraj, during his tenure, had promised to construct a new prison on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway.
Disappointed
In May, Kwame Bhagwandin was doused with acid and chopped multiple times about his body. To date he still has not recovered from his injuries which have rendered his hands almost useless and left his face damaged.
Three other men were wounded during the attack.
Weeks after members of a Board of Inquiry (BoI) set up to probe the attack handed over a report to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Randolph Rodrigues called ‘Shoulders’, Jason Mc Kenzie called ‘Psycho’ and Colwin Cort called ‘Dutchie’ were charged with attempting to murder Bhagwandin, Abdul-salam ‘Sato’ Azimullah, Davendra ‘Bara’ Harricharran, 28, of Nigg, Corentyne and Clarence ‘Wild Hog’ Williams.
Bhagwandin in a recent interview with Stabroek News said he was disappointed at the way the investigation was handled and the course that the matter is currently taking. In addition to not giving a statement to members of the BoI, he said that the fourth accused Allan Samaroo was allowed his freedom even though he was fingered in a serious allegation. A few weeks ago, a robbery under arms charge against him was dismissed. He never turned up to court to answer to the attempted murder charge. Police officials have since told Stabroek News that the man is yet to be arrested. There is no information on whether he is being actively pursued.
Bhagwandin said he was unaware that the men were going to be charged. He explained that his mother had made contact with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for an update in the matter and was told that contact had to be made with the Divisional Commander.
Bhagwandin recalled that last Tuesday he went to the commander’s office and it was then that he learnt that charges had been laid in the matter. He recalled a female rank telling him that “three get charge and I tell him one of them on the road.”
Subsequently, he said, he spoke with the commander and explained his position. He said he asked about the prison wardens who have been accused of assisting the gang to carry out the attack and was told that was a matter he had to raise with Rohee.
“He said that he ain’t got nothing to do with that leh me go to Rohee himself and ask he,” Bhagwandin said. He had been hospitalised in Georgetown for nearly two months and was able to post his bail, a day after being released from hospital. He was on remand on charges of attempted robbery and discharging a loaded firearm
“He said he can’t do nothing I gotta go to see Rohee meself. He said he ain’t got no knowledge concerning the story…” the man said while recalling that he expressed concerns that the members of the BoI had not taken a statement from him. He had earlier said that statements had been taken from only two of the injured prisoners. While in hospital he had given a statement to the police.
He said that what is even more shocking is when he learnt that Samaroo was out free and had not been charged. He said that there were other officers in the room while he was speaking to the commander and one of them told him that the man was on a bailable offence.
“If the police really need him they will get him,” he said adding that someone called him and told him that the man was seen shopping with his mother in the market.
He stressed that when Samaroo had appeared in court on the robbery under arms charge, the court should have been informed that he was the subject of a far more serious investigation. “The prosecutor should have informed the court about what Samaroo was being investigated for. There were other policemen at the court and they knew what was going on. They could have rearrested him as he walked out of the court,” he stressed, adding that what had happened was “a real injustice.”
“I am disappointed at how this thing was handled,” he said while noting that it has been said that the implicated wardens have been transferred to other locations. He said the warden who was most involved was transferred to Georgetown, a move which he said was totally unacceptable. He held fast that the only way justice can be served is if criminal charges are laid against wardens.
“They need more serious officers and these things gotta start from the top. If upstairs flap, downstairs flap. Everybody doing what they want…” he said, while noting that he is watching to see what will happen as he is yet to be informed about the court proceedings and would like to testify.
It has been reported that last Tuesday Azimullah was charged with felonious wounding, a situation which may have sparked the May 23 attack.
On April 29, Brian Hescott was stabbed with an ice pick. Hescott, who is serving a sentence for armed robbery, and a murder convict were involved in a scuffle during which Hescott was stabbed in the chest, resulting in his hospitalisation.
On June 14, another prisoner Tameshwar ‘Rambo’ Khemraj was stabbed and chopped several times after being attacked by three other inmates. The 28-year-old man, of 171 Nigg Village, Corentyne, was subsequently admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the New Amsterdam Hospital.
Victor Larry was on August 10 found dead in his cell at the Georgetown Prison. A post-mortem examination later revealed that he had been stabbed to death.
The last attack occurred earlier this month when convicted prisoner Theon Smith stabbed Akeem Edwards to death with a knife at the Mazaruni Prison. A heated argument reportedly sparked the attack.
