A city businesswoman linked to a man charged with killing Bacchus’ younger brother Shafeek in January this year, was detained by police yesterday following the reported confession of another central suspect in the case.

Police would not confirm reports that the suspect confessed Wednesday to killing Bacchus after he helped them find a gun in a dung heap in the yard where Bacchus lived.

A brief press release said a firearm which may have been used to kill Bacchus had been recovered and was subject to scientific tests. Police said scientific tests were also done on suspects.

Bacchus, the self-confessed `death squad’ informant, was shot three times in the head and body with a .38 gun while he was in bed just before 03:00 hrs last week Thursday.

Two close relatives who lived with Bacchus at the four-storey house in Princes Street, Lodge, Georgetown, were among those still in police custody yesterday. They have emerged as central figures in the probe.

Police said more than 50 persons were questioned and 19 arrested. The release said several homes were also searched during the probe.

The evidence gathered by the investigating team is to be reviewed by the Director of Public Prosecution for advice on how to proceed, a source said yesterday.

An employee of Bacchus has reportedly confessed to the killing and the city businesswoman who had been questioned before, was rearrested yesterday by the police after her name was called regarding an intended payment to the killer.

Reports said the man who has admitted to shooting Bacchus, was employed by the Bacchus family as a handyman and slept in a hammock on the property.

The man was described as a loyal friend to Bacchus until they had a recent falling out.

Unconfirmed reports said Bacchus’ killer also alleged that a close relative let him into the building and had left the door to Bacchus’ bedroom open.

This would explain how the killer got access to the building and why several dogs, including a pit bull which Bacchus kept in the yard, did not bark on the morning of the killing, sources said.

Bacchus was the key witness against two men – Ashton King and Shawn Hinds – charged with killing his brother Shafeek in a drive-by shooting outside the Princess Street residence on January 5.

A preliminary inquiry into the murder charge against the two is under way.

A third man held in that case, Mark `Kerzorkee’ Thomas, died in hospital a short while after he was arrested.

After his brother’s murder, George Bacchus went to the media and the United States Embassy with allegations that Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Ronald Gajraj had started a `Phantom Squad’ that targeted known and dangerous criminals in order to stem the crime wave unleashed after the February 23 jailbreak in 2002.

Gajraj has denied the charges.

Bacchus was buried yesterday with mainly relatives present.

His coffin was taken to La Repentir Cemetery, Georgetown, for burial in an already prepared tomb after his body was briefly displayed at the Sandy’s Funeral Parlour.

While at the funeral parlour, pockets of people who had only learnt of the funeral a short while before, poured in to get a glimpse of the body amidst prayers and songs.

A few of his relatives who were present said very little.

A minibus loaded with mainly women `street protesters’, rushed to the cemetery just before the burial.

They chanted loudly, asking the officiating preacher, “Oh! Leh we see him, nah. We does protest and mek noise fuh yuh, George, how yuh go do we suh?”

Bacchus was placed in a tomb next to one in which his brother was buried.

A pity
I REFER to a letter published in the Sunday Stabroek of the June 6, 2004 purporting to be written by Aubrey C. Norton.

The letter is headlined `Burnham was open to power sharing during the period of the PNC government’.

If I am not mistaken Mr. Norton is a political activist rescued by Mr. Robert Corbin on the death of Mr. Hoyte who had deemed Norton one of his “creatures”. Norton is also a lecturer at the University of Guyana.

He has written so glibly, without particulars or details of the “discriminatory allocation of the resources of the State; the marginalization of competent professionals and other Guyanese who are not aligned to the Government; and the increasing use of the coercive arms of the State to dominate and control the political opponents of the Government”.

What a pity. Norton was rescued by the University of Guyana when Hoyte sidelined him and caused him to lose his stipend from the PNC.

Has he forgotten that he had sued his party/Hoyte for salary? And now he speaks of discrimination and the coercive force of the government!!

When the lecturers and professors of the University of Guyana line up one thinks it is a gathering of the hierarchy of the PNC. Look at any government department and to one’s self be true and say whether there is discrimination and marginalisation!!

Norton wants power-sharing. Has he or anyone whom he represents explained his or their concept of power-sharing?

According to him, Burnham had stated that when Dr. Jagan was proposing the splitting of the ministries, boards and corporations and the Public Service Commission 50-50, he, Burnham retorted that that was a proposal for a crude distribution of power, and that it was on those issues that the national unity talks broke down.

So what is Norton’s, Corbin’s or the PNC’s proposal? Are they prepared to accept that the sharing must be based on representation in Parliament, as was Mr. Burnham’s idea, according to Norton?

And oh, by the way, at no time did Desmond Hoyte come around to the position that power-sharing time had come. He was more concerned with making the country ungovernable with fire and more fire.
NORMAN LEOW

Misrepresenting itself
ANOTHER mysterious organisation in Guyana is the so-called Guyana Press Association which just seems to float up as the occasion necessitates.

It lies dormant or apparently non-existent for years, then whenever a suitable issue arises, it makes a comment – even if at the time, there is only one active member, and its stance is always pro-PNC and anti-PPP/C government.

It is extremely doubtful if it has any real bona fides, or really represents the interests of the vast majority of media operators.

It is really another mouth-piece and front organisation for the PNCR, as it has proved in the past and which future utterances will confirm.

To call itself the Guyana Press Association is really misrepresenting itself, as it has no such locus standi or credibility.
MARCUS FRASER

Main pillar
GUYANESE people are not stupid; they are perspicacious and worldly wise.

Some letter writers had said that when George Bacchus appeared on the `Evening News’ newscast, he was an embarrassment to them as he was incoherent and lacked credibility.

It was also observed that on the next day’s newscast, `Evening News’ only showed the video of George Bacchus without the audio, which confirmed the writers’ observations.

It is now being disclosed that George Bacchus was in fact hypertensive and was administering to himself some sort of drug to stabilise himself, so the observance made of his behaviour on screen at that time was quite accurate.

Some media, for obvious reasons, plan to play out the story of George Bacchus for all that it is worth and each day give us a little bit more information which will give rise to more articles and more letters, speculating and arguing on what is true or what isn’t.

But, of course, today we do have a free media, so there is nothing wrong with this.

However, this could not have happened under the PNC, when the political assassination of Dr. Walter Rodney took place, or when Fr.

Bernard Darke was murdered. There was no free press then.

So, we are free to freely speculate and debate on all matters coming out of the George Bacchus murder and other matters, as a free media is a main pillar of a democratic society, such as Guyana is today.
PRIYA LALL

Constables fled
CITIZENS and the business community are dismayed over the lack of protection by the Police Force last Friday afternoon in the shopping districts of Regent and Camp streets and elsewhere, where small, unruly bands of people led by PNCR officials, forced many business places to close, although the police were there in strength.

Many citizens also were robbed and molested, some in full view of the police who seemed to have been suffering from inertia or fright.

They can still prosecute some of the hooligans as there is a lot of video footage around.

Market vendors who complain of being regularly terrorised by City Constables every Friday afternoon, complained of being left to fend for themselves, when the constables fled into the safety of their office and looked on at the proceedings.

The citizens say they will support all efforts to help build a more responsive and efficient police force as well as improved and better city governance.
JEREMY WILLIAMS