BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN what can be termed the worst riot in the history of the prison system in Guyana, 17 prisoners were killed and at least eight others injured in a fire lit by angry inmates at about 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday (Mar. 2).
According to Guyana’s leading newspaper - Kaieteur News - more than 70 prisoners held in the Capital Section of the Georgetown Prisons vented their frustration at the sloth of justice in Guyana by setting a section of the prison on fire.
Those confirmed dead are Jermaine Otto called ‘Fungus’, Rayon Paddy, Sherwin Trotman called ‘Bad Boy’, Anthony Primo called ‘Cruel’, Shaka Mckenzie, Kirk Clarke, Latchman Partap, Chaitram Dharamdat, Aaron Eastman, Andrew Philander, Randolph Marks, Rohan Teekaran, Hilary Amos, Ashraf Ali, Delroy Williams, Clifton Joseph and Richard Hubbard.
Most of the deceased men were reportedly on remand for high-profile killings. Among those injured are Oswald Yaw, Randolph Marks, Collis Collison, Samuel Beaton, Ignatius France, Andel Forde and Marcellus Verbeke.
Similar to many correctional facilities in the Caribbean region, the Lot 10 Camp Street Georgetown Prison has been overcrowded for years and, according to Kaieteur News, the fire is believed to have started by prisoners who were venting their frustration at what they felt was the inordinate length of time they were on remand while awaiting trial.
The media house reported that while the fire was raging, pandemonium erupted outside of the prison as smoke engulfed the area, while scores of concerned relatives and friends of inmates, turned up demanding answers from the authorities, who at that time were still assessing the damage and number of casualties within.
The entire area was cordoned off as firemen bravely fought to extinguish the raging inferno, while ranks from the Guyana Police Force battled to contain the confusion as traffic on route to the prison was being diverted.
Kaieteur News reported that one woman, along with two children, was seen traversing the area asking ranks if her husband had perished in the blaze. She was heard sometime after screaming uncontrollably while her children looked on.
“Y’all father dead! Dem light fire and burn he!”
Soon after, the children were taken away by a relative as others began to console the sobbing woman while she asked, “Wha will happen now? Wha I gah do now?”
Allegations were thrown from all corners as bystanders shouted out to media operatives that the “warden dem murder them man in deh”.
“When the fire start I hear dem man hollering in deh. Dem man won’t ah dead if the warden dem de help de rest ah de man dem to out de fire. Is dem jail man dem use bucket and out the fire. The warden dem run way!”
After the dust had settled, some inmates were seen peering through the windows on the southern side of the prison as their family members who were standing along the sidewalks shouted out asking if they were hurt.
“This,” Kaieteur News said, “prompted the men to become vocal and with the media on scene, relatives pressed the men to ‘talk wha happen’.”
The men then began shouting out, “Dem murdering we, dem lock up dem man and beat them. Help! Help! How much dem tell y’all dead? Dem lie, it got a whole van load with bodies in here!”
The inmates’ attention was quickly turned towards the ranks that had formed a human barricade on Durban Street, as they shouted out, “Yall f***ing laugh, first laugh is no laugh, is the last laugh.”
Reports coming out of the only English-speaking country in South America state that riot continued this morning (Mar. 4) at the Georgetown Prison with inmates calling for the presence of the Minister of National Security to have dialogue with him.
