Mourner: Bob Marley’s funeral has nothing on this

As the relatives of the Cocoa Piece five sought closure with the final rites at Sunday’s funeral, organisers and mourners were engaged in a battle of wills as Clarendon College convulsed with emotion.

A sea of humanity flooded the school compound as onlookers, many with no personal knowledge of the mass murder victims, came for a glimpse of the tragedy that has transfixed the nation.

Even the biblical Zaccheus might have been perched in a sycamore tree.

But others wanted to be close to the proceedings, triggering tugs of war with security personnel at the Stuart Hall Auditorium while soldiers formed a human shield to create a corridor for family members at the graveside, where chaos reigned.

The human shield caused a stampede at Sutton Memorial Cemetery, sending mourners toppling over each other and some sustaining minor injuries.

The huge turnout was emblematic of the magnetic pull of the thanksgiving service for 31-year-old Kemesha Wright, who was murdered along with her children, Kimanda Smith, 15; Shara-Lee Smith, 11; Rafaella Smith, five; and 23-month-old Keshawn Henry on June 21.

A cousin, 23-year-old Rushane Barnett, has confessed to the mass murder.

Several mourners said it was the largest funeral they had ever attended, with some hinting that reggae icon Bob Marley’s in 1981 might not have been as large.

One woman, who journeyed from St Elizabeth, told The Gleaner that she did so because she has four children. She was touched by the horrific deaths.

“Everything about it was challenging. Fi get dem inna the grave and fi get dem inna the church,” the woman said, adding that there were perhaps larger, more suitable locations.

“A nuh one, you know. A five people a bury,” the woman said.

She told The Gleaner that on hearing the news of the quintuple murder, she cried constantly for a week.

“Me nuh know dem, but mi did haffi deh here fi get closure,” she said at the cemetery.

Pastor Rowan Edwards, one of the officiating ministers, repeatedly told the mourners that the police would remove them from the gathering if they did not cooperate.

“If you do not clear the aisle, the police have the right to remove you outside,” Edwards said.

Dennis ‘Comrade’ Cameron, a friend of the family, said he was at the candlelight vigil, as well as the wake, and therefore could not miss the funeral.

Cameron, too, told The Gleaner that having attended Marley’s funeral, the farewell for the Clarendon five might have drawn a larger crowd.

He reached the service from 9:30 and took time to greet familiar folks.

“Bob Marley nuh have nothing on this. It opened a lot of eyes. If you follow social media, it all over the place. A lot of people don’t even know the people. People are grieving, people are hurt,” Cameron said.

Maurine Ellis would be plucking chickens at her farm Sunday but made the trip from Pennants in the parish because she cared for the bereaved family.

“I have feelings for people, and this is a wicked act. I have grandson, brothers, sisters,” Ellis told The Gleaner.

She missed all the other events in the lead-up to the funeral and felt compelled to attend.

Funeral director Trevor Witter had to be yelling at mourners to stay back, but they were not daunted by the security personnel.

“Get back, mi say. Unnu fi get back,” Witter said, directing hearse drivers to position themselves.

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Leader of Opposition Mark Golding, as well as Cabinet ministers.

andre.williams@gleanerjm.com