– breaking into homes, molesting young girls
– residents plead for army to assist
A large gang of men, some of whom are armed with “bush” (homemade) guns, have been breaking into homes in the North West District (NWD) and molesting young girls over the last week, leaving villagers traumatized and afraid to sleep in their homes at night.
This week police in the area arrested two men believed to be gang members, but despite this and the formation of citizens’ patrol groups in Hosororo, Bumbury and Wanaina, the gang has continued to operate. Stabroek News attempted to get a comment from Acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene yesterday but was unsuccessful.
Residents of the area said it is believed that the men are from settlements along the Aruka River, which runs through Hosororo, which is home to some 1,200 people. Bumbury is the next village followed by Wanaina. These two communities have much smaller populations.
Yesterday residents made a plea for the army, which has a base some three miles from the terrorized communities, to lend some assistance. They said the men would strike and then escape into the thick bushes making it difficult to capture them. The gang has been attacking all three villages, sometimes simultaneously.
Speaking to this newspaper, a prominent resident of Hosororo said that on Monday night 12 men surrounded a house in the village with the apparent intention of breaking in, but eventually abandoned that plan and moved on to other houses in the area.
The woman, who did not want her name published, said the men are “entering people’s home and molesting their girl children”.
So far, there have been no reports of actual rape, but, according to information, the men have succeed in fondling the breasts and pulling at the underpants of the girls, some of whom are as young as 12 years old. The resident said the men are unable to do anything else because the girls would wake up and scream alerting the entire household.
The resident said the police were informed about the situation last week after it escalated into a nightly occurrence. She said some 10 girls have been victims, adding that the figure could be higher, but some residents might be either afraid or ashamed to come forward.
The woman told Stabroek News that the officers from the Mabaruma Police Station later called a meeting on Hosororo Hill with the men of the three affected communities to help find a way to handle the situation.
“People scared bad. They can’t sleep at night,” she said, pointing out that while there is one straight road that runs through the communities from the river; there are several other tracks that lead from the river.
She said that from the information that is circulating, the men are coming from the river and appear to be spraying a chemical, which seems to have a debilitating effect on persons, before they strike.
The woman said it appeared that the sole intention of the gang is to molest young girls because so far the only thing that has been stolen is a generator. However, the generator was since recovered, having been found in possession of one of the men who was arrested.
Of the three, Hosororo is the only community with electricity, but this is shut off between 11 and 12 each night.
Villagers have to depend on generators and lamps for light. The resident said the cunning gang members would put out the lamp once they entered a house.
Stabroek News was told a 12-year-old schoolgirl from the village was molested but was sent to school without the matter being reported to the police as the station is located some 3½ miles away. According to the resident, the police station is too far away and an outpost should be set up in the area.
The resident said the child’s home was a flat house and instead of louvres on the windows, there are bars. The men removed the bars, entered the home and cut the net that was over the bed the girl was sleeping in.
The woman said that the child was taken to the police by teachers at the school and then after her mother arrived a statement was taken.
Subsequently, three policemen in a car began patrolling the villages on Monday night but the gang still continued to strike.
Quiet community
Another resident of Hosororo told this newspaper that she has been living in the community for 10 years and this never happened before.
She recalled that last Thursday she was at home with her three children when she heard a rapping at her front door and a noise at the door of her fowl pen some time after 11 pm.
The woman said that she made no attempt to get up because she knew it was the men. She recalled that there was a time when residents slept with their windows open but now all windows have to be nailed shut.
The resident said there was probably very little the police could do, since there were only about six officers manning the police station.
A father recalled to Stabroek News yesterday how he was awakened by the screams of his 15-year-old daughter during the wee hours of last Thursday.
He said he rushed to her aid and heard footsteps at the back of house. He later found his back door open but there was no one in sight.
The man said the children of a headmaster who runs a school 7-8 miles up river were molested on Monday night.
He explained that the homes in these communities are not as close together as those in the city and there is thick bush between many properties. He said that on Monday night alone there were at least three incidents.
According to the reports, some of the men wear masks and are armed with guns.
The resident stressed that his community was once a peaceful one but today, once it gets dark residents are consumed by fear as they do not know what the men will do next.
This must be fine man and skinny jumbie wrecking havoc. What are the police saying about this. Since their deaths crime should have stop immediately. So you see it was not the fine men and skinny combinations doing all the bad crimes.
GT Girl I was waiting to see how long it would have taken a blogger to make this comment. That goes to show that fineman and skinny were scapegoats for other criminals who were doing their thing secretly and getting away with it. What is the government doing, everyone was talking about the former regime but nothing like this ever happened under the rule of Forbes Burnham.
Give the citizens licensed firearms to protect themselves and let them form some sort of Community policing system with an alarm mechanism. My community did it in the eighties and early nineties during the heyday of kick-down-the-door bandits and it was effective.
The police and army cannot be everywhere at once, hence the citizens must be given the means to protect themselves. If the criminals have access to guns, let the people get access also. An armed community is a deterrent to these elements when they get the message that not all of them will come out alive. They are cowards at heart hence the pack mentality. The PNC took away the people’s guns back in 1964 out of fear of the public. It is about time this government wake up and realise that they cannot protect the people.
im with you on this…mandatory training for all citizens to use a firearm then lets see how these criminals will like it…..
Leave the PNC out of this. But you are right on the others matters. This is just sick.
this is terrible and the police need to beef up police presence in this area immediately and have patrols being made every hour in these areas. Also residence you need to form groups to protect your families. I call on the Commissioner of Police something has to be done like yesterday about this situation. When these men are caught they should receive the full brunt of the law.
the community needs to come together and create a community policeing group to patrol the community on a nightly basis, two groups should be created and these two groups should take turns in patroling their community to protect themselves from these sick losers, they should not depend on the police, cause the police in those far flung areas has a laid back attitude towards responding to crime.
‘Criminal gangs’ are one of the main reasons people do not visit Guyana. All of my co-workers feel the same way. You need more protection and armed vigilante groups to patrol isolated areas and also policing highly populated regions.
then do go..stay right where your friends and you are where there is no criminals and no crimes…..
And the states is SO SO SO much better. Or maybe they think, that they are too good,for Guyana.
thank guyana for your birth and basic education.
MR. MICHAEL DREPAUL, WHEN YOU DECIDE TO GO TO GUYANA FULL SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS WILL BE MADE FOR YOU AND YOUR CO-WORKERS……OH YOU FOOLISH SONS OF GUYANA… PEOPLE DO VISIT GUYANA MORE OFTEN THAN YOU THINK .ITS YOU WHO PROBABLY CANNOT AFFORD TO VISIT YOUR NATIVE LAND……..THE DUST AND SOIL THAT YOU THREAD ON ALL YOUR CHILDHOOD DAYS……
SORRY IF I OFFEND YOU IN ANYWAY MIKE….MY APOLOGIES, PLEASE
Are you for real…..armed vigiliant….who? and what happens when there is a shoot out? who willget hurt? that’s right mister …innocent people. So PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAP AND COME UP WITH SOMETHING ELSE.
This is crazy ! Lawlessness to it’s fullest capacity . Certainly these people are reversing back to the primitive days of attacking villages and raping women .
The GPF better wake up , there’s a crisis in that country , stop bullying and taking bribes and start serving and protect the people.
Hinterland residents: don’t wait for anyone to come to your assistance. No one is coming. Go back to your bows and poisoned arrows, blowpipes, clubs and whatever you know works. Set up your lookouts, bring out your trackers and make these animals think twice before messing with you. Even if the JS begins patrols, the bandits will evade them and strike elsewhere. Protect yourselves.
I think that this is the best idea!!!!!
Could it disable them for life so that they will not be a threat to others anymore?
Here Mr. Rohee is your opportunity to once more “commend” the joint services. Let the joint services go after the shadows (the gang) of fine man and skinny eliminate them.
It is indeed a sad day when citizens are not safe in their own country and now… in their homes. This lawlessness indicates that there is no regard for others and the law….oops, what law??????
IT MATTERS NOT HOW REMOTE OR HOW SMALL THE VILLAGE ,CITY ,TOWN OR DISTRICT,IN WHICH WE LIVE, WE ARE ALL GUYANESE AND AS SUCH WE ARE ENTITLED TO POLICE PROTECTION,BY THE LAW OF OUR COUNTRY……..IT IS THEREFORE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT TO SEE THAT THE LAW IS ENFORCED AND THAT THE PEOPLE OF GUYANA ARE PROTECTED………SO TRY HARDER AND GET THIS ONE RIGHT,OUR PEOPLE’S LIVES DEPEND ON IT…
ITS BEST TO PUT ONE OFFICER IN FRONT OF EVERY MAN’S FRONT GATE IN ORDER TO GIVE FULL PROTECTION……..EVEN THEN THE GOVT. WILL BE BLAMED FOR NOT DOING ENOUGH…….IF A MAN BEAT HIS WIFE …..THE GOVT WILL BEING BLAMED(the way things are being said)….MR. PRESIDENT, I ADVISE YOU GIVE THE REIGN TO ONE OF
THOSE GUYANESE LIVING OVERSEAS……..
THE GOVT CAN ONLY GIVE PROTECTION TO ITS LAWFUL LIMITS, WHICH THEY ARE EXECUTING….PEOPLE ON THE OTHER HAND ,KNOWING THE SITUATIONS OR CONDITIONS HAS TO DO THEIR PART IN BEING MORE VIGILANT AND CAUTIOUS IN AND OUT OF THEIR HOMES……DON’T BLAME THE GOVT…..they are trying hard to curb these and other issues.