…on prison breakout
After being briefed by his Minister of Public Security, his Prime Minister, his Minister of Public Infrastructure, and assorted prison bigwigs while examining the remnants of the carnage, Prezzie concluded that the Camp St Prison breakout “was an accident waiting to happen”. He was played; it’s now clear it was anything but “an accident”. This was a carefully organised plan involving dozens of prisoners, and it was executed to perfection.
But the question arises: Where was the intelligence apparatus – otherwise known as “snitches” – that’s standard fare in all prisons? The snitches finked on Barry Dataram, didn’t they? Well at least we’re told that’s why he was moved to Mazaruni. But we were also told that snitches ratted on the Lusignan and Bartica mass murderer Mark Royden Durant. So how come he and his crew weren’t transferred out?
Was Dataram’s snitch so much more credible? Or was that another feint to throw the prison officials into a false sense of security for the real deal?? But that would mean these officials are more gullible than babies taking candies from strangers, wouldn’t it? Or conniving. Since when has there been a prison breakout involving only one prisoner? But we now hear there will now be a “mother of all CoIs” into the razing of the Camp Street jail.
We weren’t able to even implement the 70 recommendations on penal reform that flowed from the presumably “garden variety CoI” after the March 3, 2016 fire and 17 deaths….and we’re now gonna be taking on a slew of new ones? What’s the point? But if the terms of reference are limited specifically to finding out how come this breakout plan – which everyone and their uncle in and out of Camp St seem to have known about, excepting the authorities –then maybe we might get somewhere.
Fact of the matter is that the breakdown in intelligence gathering isn’t confined to the Prison Service. Collusion and connivance between crooks and custodians of the law are the order of the day. We must find out how come guns were so freely available to the bandits inside the prison. We must find out how come prison doors were left wide open. We must find out how come gasoline was available to have ready at six different locations. But, most of all, we must find out how come the authorities couldn’t even get a whiff of even one of these plans.
The entire judicial system is geared to winnow out individuals who’re a threat to the rest of society, and keeping them out of circulation.
When a fella who participated in the two largest mass killings in the history of Guyana can simply waltz out, something better give!
…SWAT
Your Eyewitness has already expressed consternation that the much-touted SWAT team wasn’t deployed when armed inmates were gunning down and chopping wardens at the Camp St jail with impunity. Basically, we had a band of bandits – surpassing the ones who broke out on Mash Day 2002 – who held guards pinned down with a series of diversionary moves, and then broke out. This was grist for a SWAT mill.
The moment the warden received the call about fires at Camp Street, the SWAT team should’ve been deployed to throw a cordon around the jail three streets away. They have enough personnel to do that – if they were on alert as their SOP demands they be at all times. A week ago, the SWAT team also wasn’t deployed at the Republic Bank robbery … but maybe we can excuse them then, since the private guards immediately rose to the occasion.
But at Camp Street, what was the excuse? The situation started developing since 4pm, and wasn’t contained till 5 hours later.
Another CoI?
…holed up behind Buxton?
As a card-carrying member of the Fineman Rawlings gang, “Royden Williams” is very familiar with the Buxton backlands.
Is this going to be a repeat of 2002? Any “politically sophisticated wild man” in the wings??
