CARIBBEAN ROUND-UP
Murder toll rises in Guyana
GEORGETOWN — Guyana’s murder toll from criminal rampage continues to rise with the shooting deaths of two men by bandits in Georgetown on Wednesday night, bringing the total to 27 for the month.
Latest victims are businessman Leonard Parjohn, 32, proprietor of Steven’s Beer Garden and Carlton Norton, 22, both of whom were killed when heavily armed bandits stormed two business places in the same street in the city within some 20 minutes.
Proprietor of the other attacked business place, Pet Boy’s Beer Garden and Pool Bar, Mahendra Jagmohan managed to escape unhurt but his shop, like that of Parjohn, was also robbed by the bandits who fled in a hail of gunfire before the police arrived.
Eyewitnesses claimed that they recognised two of the armed bandits as fugitives from justice — Shawn Brown and Romell Reman — who were among five dangerous criminals who had shot their way out of the Georgetown Prison in February last year. Three of them have since been killed, two by police and one under mysterious circumstances.
Among the wounded from the shooting and robbery incidents are a 36 year-old policeman, Jeffrey Layne, Sharon Reis, Adrian Reid, Kanchan Ragbandan and Patsy Samaroo, all patrons of the popular drinking and lyming spots and residents of Georgetown.
Parjohn is the second businessman to have been killed for the week, following that of Ralph Bassoo of Better Hope on the east coast, who was shot to death in front of his wife and whose business place was looted.
Meeting of Caricom chief magistrates
GEORGETOWN — Chief magistrates of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) will be meeting in Georgetown this weekend as part of a programme organised by the Caricom Secretariat to sensitise members of the region’s judicial system to the operations of the forthcoming Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
The meeting will have as its central theme: “The Magistracy and the Caribbean Court of Justice – Challenges, Prospects and Opportunities for Judicial Enhancement”.
It has been organised in co-operation with the Guyana Judiciary. Chancellor of the Guyana Judiciary Desiree Bernard has told a media briefing that the meeting was most important as a desirable educational exercise to ensure a proper understanding of the structure and functioning of the CCJ.
Chancellor Bernard expressed optimism for the successful outcome of the CCJ, which is to have original jurisdiction in interpreting disputes arising from the Caricom Treaty in the functioning of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).
She dismissed suggestions that matters could take a good deal of time to be resolved and explained that quite unlike local courts within Caricom, the CCJ would not be “burdened” in having to deal with evidence as in lower courts of the region.