The Tribune

IT WAS refreshing to hear a young Bahamian tell his followers that they could not expect “an administration to be accountable and follow the law, if we ourselves are not going to follow the law.”

Bahamians, fed up with the injustices they have had to endure for too many years, were participating on Tuesday in the second “WeMarch Bahamas” demonstration under the leadership of lawyer Ranard Henfield.

The first “Black Friday” march – organised in November to show government that Bahamians had had enough of being kept in the dark about the affairs of their country – was such a resounding success that the organisers were encouraged to plan a second march for Tuesday – Independence Day.

The marchers, embracing every segment of Bahamian society, are no longer prepared to accept the word of politicians, blindly following them without knowing the direction in which they are being led.

As one enthusiastic Eastern Road housewife commented yesterday after the march: “The camaraderie was tremendous, the speakers were terrific, especially Dame Joan Sawyer a (former Chief Justice).” And others would add that so was the music and the presence of calypsonian Ronnie Butler.

“WeMarch Bahamas is a movement inspired by the shared desire of a people to be free of petty politics, political mischief and bad governance amongst other things,” said Mr Henfield in describing the purpose of his movement.

The tremendous success of the first march demonstrated the power of a people who had at last found their voices, and had suddenly discovered that their voices had more power than those of the politicians.

“Over the month of December the planning efforts for the WeMarch January 2017 demonstration have been subject to much redirection, frustration and general political hocus pocus,” said Mr Henfield. “These petty attempts to subvert the democratic expression of the people have bordered on desperation; from announcing a competing ‘political march’ to rival the people’s march, to arbitrarily switching a holiday observance date from January 9th to January 10th, to now denying the people’s four week old request to assemble in Rawson and Parliament Squares.

“Despite these distractions,” he said. “WeMarch Bahamas will not be deterred. Our right to peacefully assemble is a sacred one that has been guaranteed by our constitution and we will not allow any government to refuse to hear the Bahamian people’s voice or to take our rights away.”

The plan was that the marchers, dressed in black, were to peacefully proceed to Rawson Square on Independence Day where the people’s “demands for progress were to be enunciated.” Mr Henfield had earlier forecast that the march would signal “the inevitable tsunami of change that is coming to sweep over this Bahamaland.”

However, the group was denied a permit to march to Rawson Square. Instead they were given permission to occupy Pompey Square — an area too small for the followers attracted to the march. However, Pompey Square, named after the slave who, in 1830, had led a revolt in Exuma, had more historical significance. Seeing that the area was too small, a segment of the marchers insisted on continuing on to Rawson Square without police permission.

Pastor CB Moss insisted that although the permit was for Pompey Square, the size of which was inadequate, and Rawson Square was “free and available”, the marchers should proceed to Rawson Square. FNM leader Dr Hubert Minnis was also among those who headed for Rawson Square. “They march for a future, and they want to be heard,” he reasoned.

It was at that moment that lawyer Ranard Henfield stood out from the crowd.

“When we arrived at Pompey Square, someone suggested that we continue on to Rawson,” Mr Henfield explained. “I said no we have to do things in decency and order, so I went to the (police) inspector and I said we have permission to come to Pompey Square could we walk down to Rawson and make the block and come back, but he said no we can’t.

“So I told them no we can’t,” Mr Henfield said, “we can’t expect an administration to be accountable, to follow the law, if we are not going to follow the law. John (Bostwick II) and I agreed, we can’t be breaking the law, you can’t be asking for the government to be law-abiding and accountable, just because the crowd is angry.”

With such solid principles — which we have not heard enunciated in a long time — Ranard Henfield is indeed a leader to watch as his united movement points to the future.