ROADSIDE MURALS in Tivoli Gardens, the bedrock of Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) support in West Kingston, which once had the image of Bruce Golding, have been defaced.

Paint has been daubed over the faces of Golding and his family by persons thought to be loyal to Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, the reputed area don who has been extradited to face drug and gun-trafficking charges in the United States.

Golding, the member of parliament, has been blamed for his handling of the Dudus matter and some residents say his actions led to the death of more than 70 people there during a security operation to capture Coke one year ago.

Days after the operation, residents of Tivoli signalled they wanted nothing to do with Golding.

“Away with Bruce! Him use wi and refuse wi. Bruce Golding must go!” one resident shouted during a media tour of Tivoli last year.

One woman told The Gleaner that it was not only Golding who should pay a political price in the aftermath of the ‘Battle of Tivoli’.

“No more voting. Wi done wid politician. Marcus Garvey dead but him word live on. Black people nah go know demself until wi back against the wall, and wi know wiself now,” she said.

Golding has always operated under the shadow of his predecessor, Edward Seaga, who led the constituency for 43 years before retiring in 2005 and the events of May 2010 have made things worse.

During the peak of the incursion, Seaga criticised Golding’s handling of the Coke extradition matter and, as the body count grew in that bloody week, the almost uniform comment from residents of Tivoli was that “this couldn’t happen under Seaga”.

residents blame golding

Last week, Daisy Smith, a Tivoli resident who openly supports Coke, shrugged when her MP’s name came up.

“Mi nuh know ’bout the MP. When mi sick, a one time him look fi mi,” she said.

Other residents have mixed feelings towards Golding, who many blame for giving the order for the security forces to enter West Kingston after Coke refused to turn himself in to the police.

“People still love Mr Golding,” one woman said.

“If you watched the Manatt enquiry, most of the Labourites who supported him were from Tivoli, but there are people who will tell you they want nothing to do with Mr Golding,” the woman added.

Pastor Patricka Hall came of age in Tivoli during the reign of former strongmen Claudius Massop and Lester Lloyd ‘Jim Brown’ Coke.

The former teenage mother said she recommitted her life to Christ at age 30 and has worked ever since to win others over to the Lord.

But for a moment, Hall shed her Christian robes and donned partisan garb to comment on West Kingston’s stormy relationship with the security forces.

“Look at areas like Arnett Gardens (People’s National Party stronghold), they are no better than Tivoli, but over the years, we have been singled out,” she said.

“The only difference is, in 2010, the people will say we were attacked by our own party.”

While it is unlikely that the people’s anger will lead to a defeat for Golding at the polls whenever the next election is called, it is clear that he will have to do much more than his weekly visits to win back the love and respect of the people.