Army Lethem base commander dishonourably discharged
Handed four-month sentence
By Kim Lucas
Stabroek News
November 1, 2002
A Second Lieutenant, who was placed under arrest around the same time a large quantity of ammunition could not be accounted for at the army’s Lethem base, was yesterday dismissed from the force and jailed for four months.
William King is possibly the second officer to have been stripped of his rank and discharged dishonourably in the history of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
He was found guilty of two charges yesterday after being court- martialled. When contacted last night, the army’s public relations department confirmed the report:
“The officer was tried by court martial, which commenced on Wednesday October 25 and ended (yesterday) after a one-hour deliberation. King was charged with being absent without leave and conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline,” an army source explained.
The army said according to the charges proffered, Second Lieutenant King, while designated location commander at Lethem, sent a false and misleading message to his battalion and company headquarters, during which time, he had abandoned his location and men under his command.
The committal order was signed by the Chief of Staff, Brigadier Michael Atherly after the trial ended and King was handed over to the prison authorities to commence serving his four-month sentence.
In early October, more than 400 rounds of ammunition could not be accounted for at the GDF Lethem base which King was in charge of. That very week, King was placed under close arrest at Base Camp Ayanganna and the army said it was because the soldier had left the base without authorisation.
Between July and August, two of the army’s high-powered weapons - an AK-47 assault rifle and an M-70 rifle - as well as a quantity of ammunition, were pilfered. A number of soldiers and civilians were subsequently arrested.
The civilians have been charged and the soldiers embroiled in the theft and attempted theft turned State’s witness and are still confined at Camp Ayanganna.
Then, just two weeks before King was held, a member of the army’s 31 Special Forces Squadron was detained after he reported to his superiors that a Charlestown resident had approached him with the intention of purchasing an AK-47 assault rifle.
Stabroek News understands that the same rank admitted to stealing and selling five bulletproof vests, possibly to the same man. The Charlestown resident was later released.
In the wake of the recent theft and sales of arms, ammunition and other military equipment by soldiers, the GDF has been conducting a series of inspections at all its locations to ensure that the standard operating procedures (SOP) are adhered to in relation to the issuing and booking of weapons.
During the eight-month crime spree that hit the country after the February 23 jail-break by five men, a number of AK-47s and other heavy-duty weapons were used by bandits. Persons have also been questioning the source of the bandits’ bulletproof gear and seemingly limitless supply of ammunition.