Given the recent increase in murders of the “innocent”, including last Thursday’s murder of Uber driver Christopher Mohammed and Sunday’s killing of McDonald’s Cipriani Boulevard’s branch manager Ashmeed Mohammed, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said it is time for tough action.
Persad-Bissessar was a specially invited guest at Christopher Mohammed’s funeral yesterday at the St Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church in Petit Valley.
In her special tribute, Persad-Bissessar, who said she did not want to politicise the service, urged the scores of mourners to “join hands and say enough is enough.”
“At a time when we are seeing the lives of so many daughters and sons of our soil being snuffed out; it is any parent’s worst nightmare to lose a child, and I can only imagine the pain felt by these families having lost their loved ones,” Persad-Bissessar said.
Persad-Bissessar recently called on the Government to look at the option of getting soldiers involved in the fight against crime by giving them the powers of arrest.
Describing the upsurge in violent crime, home invasions and murders as frightening yesterday, she criticised the Government’s silence and inaction in dealing with this issue. She disclosed that she was asked by the Mohammed family to assist them in coming up with an initiative that will help keep Mohammed’s memory alive. She promised to meet with them soon to continue discussions. Persad-Bissessar urged the family to keep their faith in God during this difficult time.
Officiating Priest Father Stephen Geofroy, in his homily, said he was moved by the message delivered by American Bishop Michael Bruce Curry during the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Saturday.
Geofroy’s advice to the mourner’s gathered was that what was needed in society is love.
“We have to connect our experiences to love and be loved. I was moved by the Bishop from the Royal Wedding…It is the power of love, it is the only hope we have.”
Mohammed was described as a humble person with a positive attitude who dearly loved his family during the service. He was also noted as a well-organised planner known for writing down his plans in a diary and working towards them and achieving the many goals he had set for himself, his family and his girlfriend. Mohammed was also described as one who was “always ready to give a helping hand.”
Mohammed, 28, was shot and killed during an apparent carjacking while on a Uber drive, which was his part-time job. He worked as a sous chef aboard an oil rig.