Crum-Ewing’s murder accused goes into hiding as investigators prepare to reopen case

The man accused of murdering political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing back in 2015, Regan “Grey boy” Rodriques has gone into hiding.
The shocking news was conveyed to Crum-Ewing’s family by a senior police officer last Monday and comes just days after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) announced that the case will be reopened.
Crime chief Wendell Blanhum in a telephone interview said once the case was reopened Rodriques ought to be arrested.
Hustace Harcourt, the foster father of Crum-Ewing said “something is very strange sick and sad.”
He is now demanding answers and believes that the murder of the political activist is not being taken seriously by the authorities.
Harcourt is disappointed and hurt, explaining that he only learned of Rodrigues’ disappearance when he took it upon himself to check on his (Rodrigues’) status at Eve Leary.
“A senior police officer informed me that to his knowledge Rodriques was to report to the Police Station twice a week” Harcourt explained.
Crum-Ewing was executed at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, on March 10th 2015 while encouraging residents to vote against the then ruling People Progressive Party (PPP/C).
‘Grey boy’ was arrested and charged with Crum-Ewing’s murder after the police found a gun in the Riverview, Ruimveldt house, it was later confirmed as the murder weapon.
He was later charged with murder but was subsequently freed by Magistrate, Judy Latchman September last citing lack of evidence.
Harcourt said since Rodriques was arrested he has seen strange occurrence, pointed to the slothfulness of the police and the DPP in the approach to the case.
Harcourt feels if Courtney’s death was not political the suspects would have already been behind bars.
Despite these setbacks in the case, the family remains optimistic that justice will be served.

“All who steal hospital drugs will go to jail”- Broomes

UG Staffers dispirited by delayed wage talks, Protest inaction

One day after Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Ivelaw Griffith announced that the university’s Council would be moving to address the issue of staff salaries, staffers of the institution have taken to the protest line to vent their frustration over what they say is a delay in addressing the issue.

Backed by the University’s Senior Staff Association, the staff members called on the Institution’s administration to immediately commit to a date when these negotiations can commence.

A meeting is set for March 30th where the Council will discuss this issue among others but staffer want direct negotiations between the administration and their representative bodies to commence forthwith.

UGSSA President Jewel Thomas said the staff members organised the protest because the administration did not begin negotiations with them and refused to say when the negotiations would commence on wages and salaries for 2017.

She said workers have been asking for this negotiation since January and although there was a meeting in February they were told that it was not meant to be a negotiation.

The UGSSA also wrote the administration asking for date and for a percentage offer to be made but the administration responded and while it addressed other issues raised in the letter it refused to respond to the negotiations issue.

Ms. Thomas said she was personal disappointed with development where the administration is refusing to give workers what the government already allocated in the budget.

She said the administration seemed to be using the delay in paying the increase as a factor for increased tuition fees.

In a statement on Tuesday, Professor Griffith said there are hard realities to be faced and tough decisions that will have to be made in order to get the University to where it should be.

“If we don’t face it, we can’t fix it. I am in the business of facing and fixing. I have been here for only eight months and there is a lot of that to do. We have to keep focused on the work to benefit our students and our staff,” he said.

 

 

UPDATE: Beating granny arrested

The beating granny at Tain Corentyne Berbice was arrested Tuesday afternoon and taken into custody at the Whim police station following media reports of her abusing the 9-year-old child of her late daughter.

The motherless girl has been reportedly enduring physical and emotional abuse by the woman who was expected to care for her and another sibling after their father abandoned, soon after their mother’s funeral.

On Tuesday we learned that Inspector Ian Welch of the Albion Police Station was so moved by the child’s plight that he acted immediately after seeing the video and made his way over to the home of the grandmother.

Welch along with inspector Altia Solomon took the grandmother in for questioning and she admitted to repeatedly ‘beating’ the older child for what she deemed ‘bad behaviour’.

She was then placed in the lockups and a police investigation has been launched into the matter.

The children are now left with their aunt who has reportedly condoned the abuse. Child Care Services in Berbice has finally launched a serious investigation into the incident following repeated calls from this newscast about the child.

The children’s mother died about five years ago due to pregnancy complications and their father disappeared shortly after.

Woman discovers body in gutter outside school compound

The body of an unidentified man was Tuesday morning found in a gutter along Woolford Avenue, just opposite the Richard Ishmael Secondary School.

The discovery was made by a staff on what happens to be her first day at the institution as an Administrator for Technical and Vocational Education.

The woman said she was about to park her vehicle when she noticed the object submerged in the water.

The police were called to the scene and upon closer inspection it was confirmed to be the body of a male.

Students from along the popular school district rushed from their classrooms to the cordoned scene to get a glimpse of the discovery.

The body was subsequently fished out of the water and a police investigation has been launched.

No Free Parking: Minister’s suspension of city by-laws null and void

Taking back Rose Hall Town through divine intervention

Taking back Rose Hall Town, through divine intervention, churches from the community said the focus is to give youths hope and persuade them from a life of crime.

The community recently has seen the involvement of several young people involved in high profile murders and robberies that sent shockwaves through the country.

During a ‘Prayer March’ on Sunday, Church Leaders took things a step further by praying for Police Officers in front of Rose Hall Police outpost.

 

Farmer brutally chopped to death by fellow villager

Tragedy struck the community of Moruca early Friday morning after a businessman was chopped to death by a fellow resident.

According to reports, the farmer who was identified as Jimmy Ganga was so badly chopped that one of his foot and hand were severed.

The man who also goes by the alias ‘Khrishna’ was confronted around 6:30hrs while he was heading to his farmlands aback Mouruca.

The assailant has been identified as Daniel Rodrigues. He has been arrested by the police.

There is no reports of the motive for the attack but residents said the man has been wandering around the village over the last few weeks.

Recently, he armed himself with a cutlass and threatened to chop Khrishna.

His threats were not taken seriously and no report was made to the police.

 

GTU General Secretary urges the closure of ailing Private Schools

 

As revelations regarding the finances of private schools are being disclosed, the Guyana Teachers Union General Secretary, Coretta McDonald feels that people are not being fair to the public education system.

McDonald is of the opinion that many of the Private Schools should not be operating.

She noted that many of those schools do not have enough students to call them a school, they don’t have proper sanitary blocks and don’t have a proper programme in place to be called a school in her opinion.

McDonald said “for that reason you find many of the private schools popping up today and by next week you hear nothing about them.”

The Teacher’s Union General Secretary hopes her counterpart in the Ministry of Education is taking note of what is unfolding and enforces the measures that are supposed to be enforced in order for persons to have a private school.

To compound matters, according to McDonald, many of those school are not registered and recognized by the Ministry of Education. She posited that some of the privately-operated schools are so at fault that they are refusing to pay their taxes and are charging parents huge sums of monies.

Mc Donald said the only difference between the Private and Public Schools is that the Private School is one entity. The GTU general secretary said in the public education system they are thousands of schools that one Ministry has to deal with, along with inadequate staff, hence the reason for some of the problems facing the public education system.