A Vigil in Belmopan to Highlight the Beheading of Pastor Lucas

A candlelight vigil is underway in Belmopan and was organized by a group of religious leaders and concerned citizens, following the decapitation of Pastor Llewellyn Lucas a week ago.  Tonight’s initiative is part of a growing movement that was born on social media with a blog posted by Pastor Louis Wade.  The vigil is the first of a two-part call to action by the religious community.  On Tuesday morning, a peaceful protest will be held in Belmopan where participants will make their way to several government buildings to express their dissatisfaction with the manner in which the heads of offices, including government ministers have been dealing with crime and corruption.  The movement is called I Want My Country Back.

Louis Wade

Pastor Louis Wade, Organizer

“Llewellyn’s murder is one of many murders and I would say one too many. It is not so much that this particular murder is important more than any other murder, but just by virtue of the fact that as things begin to increase, one of them will trigger something different. And we would want that that something different that is triggered is a change—not violent revolution. And so I wrote a post that said I refuse to past on this country to the next generation in the shape that it is in, speaking about crime and corruption and what appears to be a murder and decapitation that has both crime and corruption linked to each other. And so that particular one post ended by saying I want my country back. And the response to that one simple post is leading to what I would call a movement of people who believe that we are losing a grip of the police department for example and the Ministry of National Security that should be working on behalf of the nation, is working for special interest. The Ministry of Natural Resources that should be working on our behalf, works better for special interest than it does. And we could go on and one, the immigration department. And so after Llewellyn’s death, we approached the family and shared the vision that there is just one too many. And if you knew Llewellyn Lucas, he had a cap that had that Belize logo and a knapsack with Belize and they were old and tattered and he wouldn’t want to change them for nothing. But he had many of these small projects, even running independently politically and whenever he came around any of us and anybody else, there was always a project that he wanted to sell us to be a part of to make a difference in the nation. I Want My Country Back approached the family, they wanted a vigil, a prayer vigil to march against crime—not just the crime of Llewellyn, but crime that has been sweeping the nation. And so we said let’s not just have a small ordinary prayer vigil; let’s have something that while we are praying for the family, we are also trying to generate some finances for what they have done, but at the same time, residents from across the country need to put a foot down and say enough is enough. We want the ministries of government that have been paid, and people who have been placed in government, to work on behalf of the people. we want them back; we want the sense of security where a person like William Danny Mason is not able to even enter the country much less enter the country, open up bank accounts, change his name, change his reputation and work himself up to the highest levels of our government in regards to influence; using money. Money that we know all of it was either tainted with blood ro tainted from conning different people.”