Yesterday we reported that the Guyana Police Force had received the results of DNA samples which had been sent to St Lucia for analysis in relation to the murder of cousins Isaiah and Joel Henry as well as Haresh Singh on the West Coast Berbice. This development will perhaps go a little way towards allaying the fears of residents that the police are ‘making haste slowly’ and that the crimes will never be solved.
There have already been two outbreaks of violence in West Berbice this month in response to what people there felt was a lack of progress in the Henry case, although in both instances the police managed fairly quickly to remove the blockages from the road and extinguish the fires which had been lit. This newspaper was told by residents in the area that protestors were calling on the police to make an arrest in the murder of the cousins.
They are not the only ones to have accused the GPF of a lack of expedition in their pursuit of leads. Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon told a press conference earlier this month that it appeared the Police Force saw no urgency in solving the Henry murders and bringing justice to the families. He also accused them of failing to update the public on the investigations, and maintained there should be regular public advisories on the issue until justice was served.
Mr Harmon, of course, is not exactly a neutral observer, since he and Mr David Granger went into the area after the cousins had been found, and made some comments which could only have been described as inciteful, in addition to which they could be seen as having a political cast. The widespread violence which followed the discovery was generally acknowledged to have been caused by the perception that there had been a racist motive behind the killings, not a political one. The subsequent murder of Haresh Singh, was thought to have been in reprisal for the deaths of the Henry boys.
President Irfaan Ali had taken a decision to request assistance from the Caricom Regional Security System (RSS) in solving the crimes and while the contents of their report were not made public, Stabroek News was reliably informed that the team had interviewed relatives of the deceased, one of whom had “referenced a politically exposed person who communicated with the family and requested of them to lie and say that the murders were politically influenced and in return that they will be looked after.” At a much earlier stage Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum had told reporters that investigators did not obtain any information which suggested that the killing of the Henry cousins had been politically motivated.
As for Mr Harmon’s insistence that the public be regularly updated on the progress of the investigations, as a lawyer he should know that bland generalisations apart, this is not usually advisable; it could potentially undermine any case the police are trying to build.
And then there is the question of whether the police are dragging their feet. They wasted little time in arresting some suspects initially – Haresh Singh, it might be noted, was related to more than one of them – but they could not hold them for lack of evidence. It should be remembered that the investigators initially could not get access to the crime scene for a time on account of the riots on the WCB road, something which did nothing to accelerate their inquiries. After they had investigated the site where the Henry boys were discovered they revealed that preliminary findings showed that this was a secondary crime scene, and that the murders had not been committed there. “Person[s] moved the bodies after the murder and placed them at the locations where they were subsequently discovered,” Assistant Commissioner Royston Andries-Junor said.
The search for the primary crime scene then became the focus of police attention, since it was assumed that this was where evidence linking perpetrators to the crime would be found. The public was told that a “methodical” search had been carried out in the backlands of No. 2 and No. 3 villages, between 7am and 2pm on September 17 by 75 ranks from the Police Force and the GDF, in the presence of the government pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh. They found nothing of “evidential” value, and it was following this that President Ali requested the assistance of the RSS, and that forensic samples taken from the secondary crime scene were sent to St Lucia to be compared with DNA from those who had been earlier held in custody.
President Ali has said that the RSS recommended that additional work be done by the police, although the team was satisfied with the quality of the investigations which had been undertaken. This newspaper had earlier been told by a reliable source that the team acknowledged the GPF had done “extensive” work on the three murders, and found that it was “well poised and competent” to complete the investigations.
There had been mutterings about the length of time it was taking for the DNA results from St Lucia to be sent here, as if by some magical process GPF dominion now extended to that island and they were exerting their new power to delay proceedings. Initially the time-frame given was three weeks, but it has taken considerably longer. Nevertheless, the findings are now here, and it is hoped they will provide further leads for the police to pursue.
While public impatience is understandable, it has to be understood the police cannot charge someone because they believe the person is guilty and because everyone else in the area thinks he is; they have to have a case which will stand up in court. And collecting the kind of evidence which will withstand the onslaught of a good defence lawyer is not as easy as the residents of West Coast Berbice might wish. In addition, it might take time to assemble. In other words, the police need a bit of space to complete a thorough investigation.
As for the government, for its own credibility it needs all three murders solved. In addition, it might be observed that for political reasons it cannot have one solved and not the other two, or vice versa. At one stage President Ali had said that he would also secure Argentinian assistance for the investigations. That has not arrived, whether because the Argentinians are hesitant in these Covid-19 times, or whether because their help is not now considered necessary, is not clear. Perhaps that avenue has still not been abandoned, and should the police reach another impasse, it will be reactivated.
Acting Commissioner of Police Nigel Hoppie has gone on record as saying that no stone will be left unturned when addressing the matter of the murders. For the time being we should take him at his word.
