Let justice be done though the heavens may fall

Apr 14, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor,

The tragic and unwarranted deaths of Lindeners Ronaldo Peters and Keon Fogenay by two police officers have set the country in a state of fear and agony over the last few days.

Subsequently, the community of Half Mile, Wismar, Linden was in a state of destabilisation and uproar, with angry residents destroying public property, blocking roads, and burning tyres. One can only imagine the psychological state and trauma that the families of the deceased young men are currently experiencing, even though this is not the best course of action to resolve the situation as aforementioned.

The horrific acts committed by these Guyana Police Force officers are a sordid reminder of the extrajudicial killings that took place between 2000 and 2006, the 2012 shooting of three civilians in the mining town of Linden, as well as the 2022 murders of Quindon Bacchus and Orin Boston.

The perpetual seed of rancour and discord sown by the many bad elements in the Guyana Police Force does not augur well for the citizenry, as the question is, can the Police Force ever be trusted? It would be biased and prejudiced of me to ignore those “exceptional police officers who conform and revere the law” and who do not engage in corrupt activities.

The question is, how many more? How many will continue to suffer at the hands of policemen in their uniforms? As the young people of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, we must join the voices of many and say no to police brutality and no to the killings of civilians.

Although the Police Act (Chapter 16:01) acknowledges the necessity of “reasonable force to maintain order and to de-escalate violence,” it does not specify the use of force in riots or other disturbances. Riot control efforts, such as communication, persuasion, and warning shots, should be the initial recourse before resorting to forceful measures. While there have been reports of fired rubber pellets and dispersed tear gas, some protestors flagged that live rounds were also fired, which resulted in the death of Fogenay, who was a bystander. The question is, why live rounds?

Stabroek News on April 12, 2025, reported that a team from the Regional Security System (RSS) arrived in Guyana on Friday afternoon to conduct a probe into the police killings of Ronaldo Peters and Keon Fogenay.

Head of State Irfaan Ali vowed that an impartial investigation will be launched, as he is adamant that justice should take its course, and like many anxious Guyanese, we are yet to see the outcome of this matter because, ipso facto, the scale of justice at times can be uneven, which should never be the case. The families of the deceased deserve closure into these occurrences, and “justice must be done although the heavens may fall.”

This is not the time to politicise the current situation; rather, as young people and tomorrow’s leaders, we should fervently pray that those police officers will be held accountable for their horrible and unlawful actions without any delay or interference.

This serves as a moment for both government and opposition to go back to the drawing board and to discuss meaningful policies and ideas on how to counter these recurrences in our society, as those entrusted with the responsibility to serve and protect us are firing live rounds at civilians, this can never be normal.

WE SAY NO TO EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS, NO TO GRUESOME MURDERS OF

CIVILIANS BY POLICE OFFICERS!

Regards,

Antonio Dey

Taslikah Azore

Lorenzo Joseph

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