Saturday’s uprising at the Lusignan Prison in which two inmates were shot dead by prison guards and five others wounded requires emergency steps by the PPP/C government to alleviate squalid conditions at the facility which has seen the spread of COVID-19 and a host of other grouses.
Ever since the Camp Street jailbreak of 2002, citizens of this country have watched nervously at a series of calamities under various governments including the deaths of 17 prisoners in a fire at the Camp Street prison in 2016 and the torching of the entire facility a year later which led to the Lusignan Prison having to hold far more inmates than it was capable of holding and leading to oppressive conditions and seething disenchantment.
Based on its press release on Saturday, the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) lost complete control of the situation and by the time order was restored Earl Graham, 51, who had been sentenced to three months imprisonment for malicious wounding, assault and resisting arrest and Winston Herbert, age 21, who was in custody for rape had been shot dead.
The five others injured, two of whom are at the GPHC, and the remainder at the Lusignan Prison are said to be in stable condition.
It must also be noted that Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn and Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony came under attack from missiles and had to be hurriedly escorted from the compound. Thereafter, there was total chaos which exposed the very thin veneer of prison security in this country.
In its own swords, the GPS said “the situation rapidly degenerated and became riotous with some prisoners scaling the inner fence of the Holding Bay, thus entering the restricted area, and launching attacks on the prison officers within the compound who had to flee to safety.
“After the officers left the main compound, the situation rapidly deteriorated into mass disorder with inmates rushing the main gate in a bid to break same. In response to (the) situation, and in a bid to contain same, ranks posted within the towers discharged several shots in the general direction of the gate which resulted in the injury of seven inmates and restoration of relative calm to the situation”.
Saturday afternoon’s unrest had started much earlier in the day. The GPS said that prisoners refused to accept their meals at 7.30 am. The quality of prison food has been an ongoing problem in the general prison system but it is likely that fears of COVID-19 and its spread in the facility may also have played a role in the refusal of the food.
The refusal of the prisoners to accept the food was drawn to the attention of the facility’s administrators who tried to speak to the prisoners to understand their concerns. However, the GPS said that prisoners refused to engage with the administrators and demanded to see the Minister of Home Affairs.
The standoff continued up to 12:30 pm when prisoners also declined their midday meal. As a result, Ministers Benn and Anthony visited at about 1.15 pm and were apparently well received by the prisoners.
The GPS said: “The ministers were loudly cheered and welcomed on entering the facility. They commenced a discussion with nominated representatives of the prisoners from Holding Bay 2. During this engagement all the prisoners appeared calm and those being engaged appeared receptive.
“Concerns surrounding extensive timelines between court hearings and remand, among other issues, were raised with the Ministers who committed to address those within their scope but also informed the prisoners that the ability to address the issues within the remit of the courts was outside their authority but would be brought to the attention of those with those responsibilities. The issue of overcrowding and the risk of exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic, due to recent positive test returns amongst inmates, were also raised”.
The response by the ministers was generally well received, but during the subsequent discussion by the Ministers with inmates of Holding Bay 1 some prisoners from Bays 2, 3 and 4 became aggressive and began hurling missiles after which the situation grew completely out of control.
It should be noted that Minister Benn made an impromptu visit to the Lusignan Prison on August 22nd during which he himself expressed concern at the “unsatisfactory” conditions there and had said that there would be improvements.
According to a release from that visit, high on the agenda was to be the construction of additional areas so that social distancing could be practiced and that better supervision and management of the prisoners would be possible.
The Minister was also brought up to date on the current status of court hearings at the various levels – Magisterial, High Court and Court of Appeal.
“The Minister expressed his concern that the conditions he observed were very unsatisfactory. With this the Prison Directorate concurs”, the release from the August 22 visit had said.
Benn had further committed to working with all concerned to “bring measurable improvements, not only to Lusignan, but also to the Georgetown, Mazaruni, New Amsterdam and Timehri Prisons on a timely basis.
“This will be pursued to ensure better public safety, a more secure environment for the prison population, improved rehabilitation, and safer and less stressful working conditions for the prison officers and staff”.
It is unclear whether any improvements were instituted between August 22 and September 19. Perhaps Minister Benn and the GPS can shed some light on this.
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in only emergency court hearings being held for some months of the year and the reliance on virtual hearings. It behoves the judiciary to take all reasonable steps necessary to ensure that inmates at the Lusignan facility and others are not unduly detained from their day in court. Not only would that be a denial of justice but it can fuel a serious security problem as that witnessed on Saturday.