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`Death
squad’ witness killed:
Bacchus
was shot dead in his bed at his Princes Street, Lodge, Georgetown home in
what seemed to be a well-planned pre-dawn execution. Police
said he was shot in the head and body. According
to neighbour and Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU) employee,
Mr. Keith Burrowes, he was just about to retire to bed when he heard about
four or five shots. This was at approximately 02:46 hrs. Burrowes
said he first checked on his wife and young daughter and about 10 minutes
later, heard a call for assistance coming from the direction of Bacchus’
residence. He
said he went out to see what the matter was and was asked by Bacchus’
nephew and two of the family’s helpers who reside in the building to
call the police. Burrowes
said that no one responded to a 911 call, while the ambulance service said
that there was no vehicle available. He
eventually got through to the police Impact Base where information was
taken. The police arrived on the scene about 15 to 20 minutes later. Burrowes
said that at no time did he hear any vehicle or any other sounds of
movement subsequent to hearing the gunshots. Neither did any of the
residents at the scene yesterday morning. He
said that it was hard to conceive of anybody getting easy access to the
Bacchus residence because of the numerous floodlights on the property. At
the scene yesterday morning, Crime Chief Henry Greene said that Bacchus
was shot three times – once each in the face, chest and thigh – as he
slept in his bed in a room on the second floor of the family’s three-storey
building. And
at a news conference at police headquarters yesterday afternoon,
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Winston Felix said that George Bacchus had
been well-known to the police. The
commissioner said there was going to be a thorough investigation into the
death of Bacchus and he was willing to follow the investigation wherever
it may lead. He
said that “because of who Bacchus was” there could have been any
number of persons who might have wanted him dead. Up
to yesterday afternoon, the police had held four persons for questioning
in relation to Bacchus’ killing, he said. The only evidence found so far
at the scene was a single warhead. Asked
what was Bacchus’ occupation as it was known to the police, Felix said,
“Bacchus would tell you that he was a cattle farmer…”, but would not
elaborate. Also
at the news conference were Assistant Commissioner of ‘A’ Division,
Mr. Paul Slowe; Deputy Commissioner (Operations) Mr. Edward Wills; Crime
Chief Greene and Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. John Sauers. George
Bacchus came into the public light days after his younger brother,
45-year-old cattle farmer, Shafeek Bacchus, was gunned down in front of
the same yard on January 5 this year. After
reports in the media that the gunmen had declared that they had shot the
“wrong man”, George Bacchus came out with the allegations that he was
the intended victim.
Bacchus
accused Home Affairs Minister, Mr. Ronald Gajraj of starting the death
squad in the wake of the 2002-2003 crime spree, a charge that the minister
dismissed as “mere allegations” and without merit. Bacchus
further claimed that he was key informant for the group until the hit men
began to target individuals unconnected with any crime. He
said that when he began to speak out, the men threatened to turn their
guns on him. He
fingered three men – Ashton King, Shawn Hinds and Mark `Kezorkee’
Thomas – in the killing of his brother. All three were arrested but
Thomas died after suddenly falling ill after his arrest. A
preliminary inquiry into the murder of Shafeek Bacchus is under way
against the other two men. Bacchus’
subsequent appearances in the media led to calls from several political
parties – most notably the main opposition PNCR – and civil society
organisations for the minister to step aside or resign to facilitate a
Commission of Inquiry into the allegations. Some
of the fallout from the resulting media furore was the revocation of the
U.S. and Canadian visas of Gajraj as well as the U.S. visas of several
other officials. The
minister offered to go on leave to allow an impartial investigation into
the allegations against him. President
Bharrat Jagdeo last month appointed a three-member commission consisting
of Justice of Appeal, Mr. Ian Chang; Mr. Ivan Crandon; and Mr. Norman
MacLean, to spearhead an inquiry into the allegations by Bacchus.
Prior
to his death, George Bacchus was most recently in the news in relation to
an as yet unaired video tape on which he recanted his allegations against
Gajraj. According
to PPP/Civic Member of Parliament, Ms. Shirley Edwards, Bacchus approached
her to facilitate the renouncement of his previous allegations against the
minister. Bacchus
later admitted to having made the tape but claimed he was offered
$10,000,000 and safe passage out of the country to do it. Efforts to contact Bacchus’ family members yesterday proved futile.
Connection
query Many
people wondered and still do, why he did not take this information to the
relevant authority, the Guyana Police Force, especially since he has
expressed his confidence in them under the new Commissioner Mr. Winston
Felix. People
also wonder what is Corbin’s
connection and role in this whole matter, since he did not support
the President who set up a Commission of Enquiry, but raised all sorts of
objections to frustrate and delay the whole process, against the wishes of
many of his supporters. It
is known that the PNCR leadership has had access to the late George
Bacchus, and would have been in a position to influence him, and this
influence would not have been benign or impartial because of their
political agenda. It
appears that Mr. Corbin and the PNCR never really wanted any Commission of
Enquiry for George Bacchus and others to appear before, as they would also
have had to appear and would have had to explain why they withheld the
claimed information/intelligence from the police for so long while
pursuing their extra-parliamentary activities which they are still doing. After
months, having been lost to sight, George Bacchus resurfaced, appearing on
the Channel 28 Evening News. He
did not come across as a credible witness, being incoherent and rambling
in his utterances. It
seems that the Evening News realised this, as on the following evening
when he again appeared on their newscast, we were not provided with the
audio but only with what the presenter told us he was saying. The
conversation yesterday morning consisted of lively speculation, as
expected, as to how he met his death, depending on the political leanings
or loyalties of the speakers. Some
accused the ruling party of being responsible, while others pointed out
that he had become an embarrassment to those who were spearheading the
campaign against Minister Gajraj, as his credibility as a witness was
destroyed by his contradictory statements made publicly and by his
demeanour and incoherence on the Evening News newscast. No
doubt the charges and counter-charges will continue for some time to come. Mr.
Sukhdeo seems to have been imbued with remarkable foresight, a sense of déjà
vu, or prescience when in his last paragraph he asks “In the meantime,
here’s a puzzle. Do you think Mr. Bacchus will be around to name names
and testify before the Commission of Inquiry? “Would
he be out of the country like Sergeant Gregory Smith? Who is preparing him
and the country for this eventuality by telling him there was [a] sniper
with telescopic lens watching him? “Who
would benefit if he is not around?” Maybe
this letter was supposed to have been printed earlier but there it was in
yesterday’s Stabroek News - on the very day that we hear of George
Bacchus being shot to death. Isn’t
this a remarkable coincidence?
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