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FLASHBACK
THE GREEN
BAY AFFAIR
Howard Campbell,
Gleaner Writer
I
T WAS one of the most
controversial incidents
in, arguably, the most
controversial decade in Jamaica’s
history. Indeed, 28 years after
five men were killed by Jamaica
Defence Force soldiers at the
Green Bay shooting range in St.
Catherine, it remains a topic of
passionate debate.
The bloody incident took
place on the morning of January
5, 1978, when 10 men from the
Central Kingston constituency of
Southside were taken to Green
Bay in the Port Henderson section
of Portmore, to meet a ‘big man’
who would give them employment
as driver/ bodyguards. The jobs
were supposed to pay $300 a
week.
Five of them perished after
coming under fire from a squad
of soldiers. The public outcry was
just as loud as the Braeton and
ARMY SEARCH: A JDF cruises the Green Bay firing range on January 6, 1978
as the manhunt continued for nine men who escaped in the January 5, 1978
shootout between 10 men conducting target practice on the range and a party
of soldiers. Five of the men were killed.