Two weeks ago, residents of the Kilcoy/Chesney area were sent into shock and dismay as the news of the gruesome murder of Rohini ‘Sabrina’ Lakhan, 29, a housewife, circulated. They also learnt that her killer husband, Ramesh Ramdeen, 42, had taken his life soon after committing the dastardly act.
The couple shared three children, aged 14, eight and six. The woman had earlier decided to take action to save her life, and moved to the courts for protection, after reporting a spate of violence inflicted at the hands of her husband.
As a result, both parties attended the Albion Magistrate’s Court, which saw a protection order being secured against Ramesh Ramdeen, who was also ordered to pay child support at $5,000 for each child. Shortly after the case concluded, Sergeant Vanessa Williams and patrol vehicle driver Constable Anys accompanied the couple back to the house to uplift Lakhan’s clothing, since she has made a decision to separate from her husband.
Ramdeen’s sister was also present at the home with the Police. However, the Police and Ramdeen’s sister subsequently left. The man acted swiftly when this development took place, and now there are all sorts of reports and eyewitness accounts to explain the absence of the Police, despite the order of the court.
This woman is not the first woman to die at the hands of her husband, or to suffer a similar fate after her spouse ensured that if he didn’t have her, no one else could. In fact, back in April 2016, the swollen and partially decomposed body of Simone Hackett was fished out of a canal in the Cummings Lodge area after she had gone missing.
She was allegedly murdered at the behest of orders given by her ex-boyfriend. Her family turned up at the scene, and immediately hysteria broke out. There were screams filled with agony and despair from her relatives after learning about the manner in which she died.
Also, last week saw the media reporting on several robberies, petty crimes, serious assaults, and murders in various parts of the country. The truth is, far too many of our women, men and youths are dying as a result of the recent spike in crime and criminality in our country.
Far too many families are being terrorised at the dirty and merciless hands and weaponry of bandits, thugs and criminals in general.
It would appear that these criminal elements have become emboldened, strategic and well resourced. Some of them even appear to have serious connections with prominent figures in our society, which see them outmanoeuvring the security forces on one hand, and avoiding successful prosecution at the level of the judiciary on the other.
Also from media reports, reconsiderations and information provided by the Guyana Police Force, one ethnic group has become a major and lucrative target for these wanton and dastardly acts.
But what is even more disturbing is the fact that Government still has not managed to get the crime situation under control, despite all the resources at its disposal.
Additionally, the new Government’s crime fighting posture and policy initiative appear more reactive, as opposed to proactive. The overall thrust of their actions to date could be described as ad hoc and lacking coordination. Simply put, the David Granger Government, even with all of its security experts and credentials, is lazy and continually failing the populace.
The roundtable weekly security meetings involving the security heads and Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, which is chaired by the President, does not seem to be having any significant impact as far as causing a noticeable reduction in crime is concerned.
More needs to be done to bring those responsible for these killings and reign of terror to justice. Far more needs to be done to prevent crime in the first place, because the morals and values in our modernised Guyana appear to be losing its dynamism and effectiveness in this respect.
Workshops and talk shops will not work. A multisector and cross-ministerial approach is needed that will result in community level activism to prevent and fight crime.
The detailed security sector reforms piloted by the PPP Government need to be implemented immediately, and all of the disciplined services recommendations.
The Government needs to launch its national crime prevention and crime fighting master-plan, which must have extensive proposals for the rehabilitation of convicted and remanded prisoners as well as deported citizens.
Guyanese will have to take a stand, as death, terror and pain appear to be stalking this land. We will have to end these tales of pain, anguish and tears sooner rather than later, if Guyana is to become safe again.
How many more lives must be lost before Government and security forces respond to the outcry from the populace? Or is it that they are awaiting another episode like those at Lusignan or Bartica before they understand the gravity of the situation?
Regardless of politics, everyone’s life must matter.
