BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) which has been calling for the depoliticalisation of crime over the years, made another appeal Wednesday for a united front to combat all categories of crime including the senseless murders of young people.
The statement comes less than 24 hours after Elvis Lawrence, 21 years and 25-year-old Shariff Williams were gunned down by armed masked men on Tuesday afternoon in Cotton Ground, Nevis, killing one on the scene, while the other died undergoing surgery at the Alexandra Hospital in Charlestown.
A female Cotton Ground resident was killed in the early hours of April 17th, when unknown gunmen pumped over 35 bullets into a vehicle in which the 28-year-old mother of two, Morella Webbe and a friend, 34-year-old Guyanese, Sonia Grant were sitting in. Webbe died instantly and Grant is said to be recuperating in hospital.
“It is time for us to come together as ONE and take a stand against this crime that is plaguing our beloved country. Whether in government or now in opposition, we in the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party will continue to speak out and take action against crime. We will not play the blame game with crime as some did. Instead we will continue to stay in our communities organizing community events: sports, fun days, health fairs, math classes, camps and development of soft skills to name a few,” said SKNLP chairperson Hon. Marcella Liburd.
Liburd, the Parliamentary Representative for Central Basseterre and former Minister of Health, Community and Social Development said community-building events keep young people positively engaged and occupied and steer them away from gangs, guns and an early graves.
“Our offices are always open. You can stop us on the streets sharing any ideas or strategies you may have for assisting with the fight against crime. This fight needs all of us,” said Liburd, who organises several events in the constituency she represents over the years, the latest on Good Friday.
“As our nation continues to mourn the loss of more and more of our young people, the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, our Party Leader,, the Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas and myself, send condolences to the families of those who lost their lives so tragically on Tuesday afternoon in Cotton Ground, Nevis. We urge our young people who are engaged in criminal activities to STOP THE VIOLENCE NOW!!” said Liburd.
The deaths of the two young men bring the number of murders in Nevis this year to five and nine in the Federation.
