Mama Joy’ – Central Kingston’s Toughest Crime Fighter
Published: Wednesday | October 17, 2012 0 Comments

Mama Joy shows members of the audience some of the latest dance moves during a function in her honour at the Institute of Jamaica in Kingston on Monday. – Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer
Nedburn Thaffe, Gleaner Writer

SHE WAS hailed as one of the toughest crime fighters in the Kingston Central police division where she tackled the monster in a most unusual manner.

She did it without the aid of a ballistic vest or any form of weapon used by the police.

“She did it with her bare hands,” stated Dudley Mais, retired inspector of police for the Gold Street Police Station, who was one of several persons gathered at the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) building in downtown Kingston on Monday to shower praises on central Kingston’s matriarch, Joy ‘Mama Joy’ Baker moments after she had been awarded the Order of Distinction, Officer Class on the lawns of King’s House.

Mama Joy, as she is known by hundreds of children and adults throughout central Kingston, was awarded for service to the development of inner-city communities and the fostering of children.

At the IOJ building, which saw persons from all walks of life turning out to shower praises, many recalled how during her early days, she took the children of central Kingston under her wings, catering to their social and spiritual needs.

A humble woman who was regarded as almost penniless, she quickly earned the respect of the business community, which rallied around her to support her cause.

Her efforts took her to the doorsteps of scores of business establishment as she sought funding to send hundreds of children to school; many of whom sprung from disadvantaged households.

During an earlier interview with The Gleaner this year she recounted how she would pad her knees “clean out bar, and wash sailor clothes” to earn the money to cater for the children.

But for Inspector Mais, the image of her turning up at the Gold Street Police Station with a “brood of children” has stood out in his mind over the years, as she ensured that the children learned from early to develop a relationship with the police.

“She would have about 20 or 30 of them behind her, she would cater for them going and coming throughout the community. Mama Joy experience there joined up with us at Gold Street Police Station have done a magnificent job here and contribute significantly to the cutting of crime,” Mais said of the 64-year-old matriarch.

Good financial management

Terrence Allen who worked in the banking sector recalled her efforts to ensure that the children understood the importance of good financial management. This would see her “opening hundreds of bank accounts”.

“She would always come and give me a report as to who is doing well and which one of them has gone on to George’s (St George’s College) and so on. I have never seen someone so enthusiastic about children, it is very hard to find people like,” he said.

As she fought back tears recounting the times travelling from Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre to the Grand Gala and throughout the rest of Kingston with her “brood” over the years, Joy Baker remained grateful for one simple thing.

“I do a lot of things, but the greatest thing that I appreciate most of all is that the Almighty has given me strength.”

[email protected]

A domestic worker from Gwabalanda suburb in Bulawayo was caught sucking blood from the nose of her employer’s four-year-old child.

The mother revealed that she got a tip-off from her neighbour after she had heard her child screaming in pain at the same time everyday. Sinanzeni Moyo, employed as a baby-sitter, had worked for the woman for two months.

“A neighbour came to me one weekend asking about my relationship with Sinanzeni. I told her that she was doing her duties well and the only problem we had was that my daughter was afraid of her,” said the mother of the baby.

The neighbor reportedly informed her that everyday at around 9 pm, she usually would hear her daughter screaming.

“We then agreed that on Monday, I will unexpectedly return home at around nine to check on what would be taking place to my daughter. I kept quiet about the matter and on Monday I got home at around 9 pm and proceeded to the bedroom. As fate would have it, my daughter was crying loud such that Sinanzeni never heard me opening the doors. I caught her busy sucking blood from my daughter’s nostrils,” she explained.

The baffled woman said she shouted at the maid but she continued ‘feasting’ on the child’s blood and only stopped when she hit her with an open hand on the face.

“Surprisingly, Sinanzeni pretended as if everything was okay and before I could ask her what she was doing, she threatened me. She told me that I should never say a word to anyone about the incident if ever I still wanted to see another day with my daughter.

In the evening, I visited my neighbor and told her what I had discovered. When we confronted the maid about the issue, she walked out on us saying she did not owe us any explanation,” said the child’s mother.

The neighbour confirmed the incident, adding that they suspected that Sinanzeni gave them wrong details and her phone was no longer reachable.

“I guess that maid was Evil and now we do not even know where to look for her and her phone is unreachable. At least she left that family alive,” said the neighbor. Mothers should beware who they live their children with.

What does the Bible say about the cremation of a dead body? Is it right or wrong in God’s sight?

There is no Bible verse that specifically addresses the issue of cremation in terms of whether it is right or wrong for Christians. In fact, God does not give any commandments about what a society is supposed to do with dead bodies. In the biblical cultures there were many different ways of dealing with the dead, and God does not specifically and directly encourage or prohibit any of them.

The preferred method of dealing with a dead body in ancient Israel was to bury it, but that was a custom, not a commandment. There were times when bodies were cremated, such as when the people of Jabesh Gilead cremated the body of King Saul, which had been desecrated by the Philistines, and they also burned the bodies of Saul’s sons (1 Sam. 31:12). Also, the bodies of some criminals were cremated, such as egregious sexual offenders (Lev. 20:14; 21:9). Achan and his family, who brought the wrath of God down upon Israel, were cremated by the congregation (Josh. 7:25). Also, as is indicated in Amos 6:10, if there was a siege or plague, the bodies of the dead may have been burned. It is possible in these cremations that the bones were collected and buried, as was the case with Saul (1 Sam. 31:13).

Another practice in Israel and some surrounding countries was to leave the dead bodies of despised individuals on the ground, where they rotted and/or were eaten by birds or wild animals. That is what Goliath threatened to do with David (1 Sam. 17:44), and what David retorted that he would do to Goliath (1 Sam. 17:46). That is how Jehoiakim, an evil king of Judah, was treated (Jer. 22:19). After the future Battle of Armageddon, there will be so many dead bodies that they will be left unburied to be eaten by the birds and animals (Jer. 7:33; Rev. 19:21).

Like the Israelites, the Egyptians usually buried their dead, and even went so far as to elaborately embalm some of them. The Persians sometimes exposed their dead in the open air (which is what some American Indian tribes did). The ancient Greeks practiced burial, but later widely practiced cremation as well. The Romans generally preferred burial, but also used cremation, and, predating the Christian era, there are Roman memorials along the Appian Way (a major Roman road) to people who had been cremated. In Jerusalem during the Roman era, there is some evidence that the bodies of criminals were occasionally thrown into the Valley of Hinnom (in Hebrew: “Gehenna”) just south of Jerusalem and burned.

Considering all the different ways the people of the biblical cultures dealt with their dead, it seems certain that if God had a particular way He wanted us to dispose of the bodies of our loved ones, He would have said so, if not in the Old Testament, certainly in the New, when cremation was much more widely practiced.

Why does it not seem to matter to God what we do with our dead? Although we may never be completely sure, one thing we do know: it places great emphasis on what we do while we are alive. The words of Ecclesiastes might ring in our ears: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom” (Ecc. 9:10).

Furthermore, no matter how dead bodies are handled, eventually they go back to “dust.” God said that to Adam some 6,000 years ago, and it is quite true: “for dust you are, and to dust you will return” (Gen. 3:19). The Hebrew word translated “dust” is aphar, which is translated a number of ways in the Old Testament: dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish. There are a number of ways this decomposition back to dust can happen. A person could: 1) be buried, and slowly decompose underground; 2) be burned up in a fire, and thus decompose quickly; 3) drown, and eventually decompose under water; 4) die unattended and be eaten by animals and insects. Eventually, no matter how we die or what happens to our bodies afterward, we will end up as “dust.” Apparently from God’s perspective, in terms of how to dispose of a dead body, there is no right or wrong way for that to happen.

Personally, and practically, we think cremation makes sense in many cases. Though most Christians have been taught that death is only “separation from God,” and that a “dead” person is “alive” in some incorporeal form, Scripture says that death is the end of life. Therefore, the person who died cannot know what happens to his body. And those who are responsible for its disposal will save a lot of money by having it cremated rather than spending a fortune for a fancy casket that will be buried and eventually rot away.

Jesus said that knowing the truth will make one free (John 8:31 and 32), the obvious converse to that is believing error puts one in bondage to some degree, whether he knows it or not. The erroneous teaching that only the body of a person dies, while his soul or spirit lives on somewhere, opens up all kinds of problematic ideas for his loved ones who are still alive.

In regard to the subject of this article, survivors may think that their dead relative is able to see how they dispose of his body. They may also think that the dead one now has the power to affect their lives either positively or negatively. Those beliefs may lead them to take on a large amount of debt in order to buy an expensive casket rather than one more reasonably priced, placing a financial burden on the family, which is a very sad situation.

To us the message in the Bible is very comforting, because it means we do not have to be consumed with grief about what has happened to the bodies of those we loved, no matter how or where they may have died. Biblically, there is no “right thing” to do with a dead body, which, from God’s perspective, makes perfect sense. Death was never in the plan of God to begin with, and it is not permanent. Death is an enemy (1 Cor. 15:26), and those who sleep in death will be raised from the dead, no matter how their body retuned to dust, or how long they have been dust.

A point that is worth considering when it comes to the treatment of dead bodies is that after God raises the dead and judges them, each person will have one of two fates: live forever with God in a body that will never die and thus never need to be buried or cremated; or else be thrown into the lake of fire where the person will at some point be completely burned up, cremated by God.

Although there is no correct way to deal with a dead body, there is a right thing to do with your living body: get saved, come unto a knowledge of the truth, and serve God. If you get saved, you can be assured that if you do “fall asleep” before Christ comes for the Church, no matter when or how you die, you will be raised to everlasting life in a new body, never to die again. Every Christian will one day live again when the Lord Jesus comes to raise all dead Christians and take us up to meet him in the air, forever to be with him (1 Thess. 4:16 and 17).

These models were featured on the He Say She Say Topic back in August, the bleachers goes by the name Angel and we all know Grung Lizard. Angel, who was living in St. James, was held by the police, along with the other 100 or so, at the big raid at the alternative club in St. Ann in June/July. That same raid that made national headlines. Babylon grab up Angel for couple days, intense questioning & cross questioning cause dem did want get to the bottom (lol) of the phone call business. Dem seh the police tek weh di passport, tek weh di hype up nissan skyline, and intergoate the bleaching outta her skin. Dem eventualy release Angel, but I doe know if is pon bail or without charge. Fast forward to October 2012. Angel come to town and despite the little setback, is now on top of her game, again. Angel however settle down now and living with di babymoms ……pause….yes…..her babymoms. Cause yuh see, though Angel may dress di part, she box down di two side of the fence, giving new meaning to the term rubbing cratches. Yup, if di bwoy/man dem ah pump attendant, bus conductor, dancer, postman, Angel box dat down too. Grung Lizard it is said is working with Angel, brushing up her ‘telemarketing’ skills. However, dem seh the other day Grung Lizard was heading up the hill (known by a colour), on her way to ‘work’, when di putt putt start guh puff puff. She leff it pon di road and when she return the following day one good Samaritan leave it pon block. She bex bex bex and go weh. She return di next day she discover dat another good Samaritan decide fi donate the putt putt to the recently reopened scrap metal industry and leave the block dem to say thanks. Grung Lizard and her man from Mobay, yep Mobay, now haffi ah tek taxi. And di taximan dem still cant understand if is a man or woman dem ah pick up cause Grung Lizard in character 24/7 now.

Artist when unno get a bus..mek di bank book bus up…money nuh rotten but nuff gyal and man rotten and dem nuh dead suh low di likkle money mek it grow or buy a business whey unno can fall back pan! If me fi call out all who dem seh bruck we scrap heroes day next year because all whey di hero dem work fi put ina place none a who can carry it on has carried it and is a shameee from dancehall queen to Gad not a cent..Dem seh one big big artist doe have no vehicle…no house only di oaklands apartment..Wha gyal a nyam di money /nyammed di money rgd goodly figet seh a suh much gyal dem register…Anyhoot..dis is not about dem dis is about Mr. Tonto Metro…………..dem seh two time pan billboard…………two time Marshal seh hit the road Jack…dem seh Tonto try a likkle hustling selling conch soup outa him van back but him heart still ina di music him go tek up $40,000 rent and now deh pan a piece a landlord hiding because di money cannot mek up….all di lovely view that this apartment is giving off him get kick out a dis place tuh. Tonto doe fraid fi lick a 9-5 kaw and di rest whey a read unno cyaa run 9/10 house and expect fi rich same way…Wealth has to accumulate

Lifeline for Buju
Juror’s breach of federal regulations opens door for mistrial, says lawyer
BY KARYL WALKER Online news editor [email protected]
Wednesday, October 17, 2012

THE newly appointed attorney for incarcerated reggae artiste Buju Banton says news that a female juror breached federal regulations will provide a loophole for the artiste to request a mistrial.
Banton was sentenced to 10 years in a Tampa, Florida court after being found guilty of drug-related charges in February last year.
But 20 months after he began serving his sentence, a female juror, Terri Wright, has reportedly admitted to a Florida-based media house that she violated federal regulations and researched certain aspects of the case online during the trial to have a better grasp of the issues when deliberation started.
Wright admitted to researching the Pinkerton rule — which makes a conspirator criminally liable for offences committed by a co-conspirator — and which the feds used to slap Buju with a gun charge, despite the fact that he had no connection to the gun.
Standard instructions for federal trials tell jurors not to attempt to research any fact, issue, or law related to a case, whether by discussion with others, by library or Internet research, or by any other means or source.
According to Buju’s attorney, Chukwe Lumumba, this breach has opened the door for his client to seek a mistrial.
“We are hopeful that this will help his case. We have every reason to believe that we have good support to argue for something to help Buju Banton,” Lumumba told the Jamaica Observer.
Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, will be heading back to the Tampa court for re-sentencing after an Appeals Court in Georgia rejected his motion for an appeal against his sentence on the basis that he was entrapped and that he was jailed for a long time before his case came to trial.
In fact, the court ruled that he should be sentenced to five more years as he was guilty of the initially dismissed gun charge.
But even though Banton faces an uphill struggle for his freedom, Lumumba said he will be seeking a retrial for his client on the basis of juror misconduct, but admitted that the process may take some time.
“We will be asking the court to set aside the verdict, and if the court does that, then the US attorney might appeal that decision and we will end up in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal. If that happens, we will ask the court to release him on bond until the appeal process is complete,” Lumumba said.
Although the possibility exists that the court could make a ruling that the current sentence should stand, the attorney said based on the evidence so far, that scenario would be highly unlikely, and in the interest of justice, Banton may be given another day in court.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Lifeline-for-Buju_12781345