The 1976 Shooting of Mike Henry That Upended Jamaican Politics

It’s the mid 1970’s and political violence is bringing Jamaica to its knees. By the end of 1976, an incident would shock the entire political fraternity when, for the very first time in history, a Jamaican politician was shot due to this political violence,; forever changing the island’s society.

Island In The Sun

It's 1976, and the entire Jamaica is on high alert as a wave of violence and arson consumes the island. According to a January 6, 1976 article published in The Gleaner titled, “Guns Blaze Again”, “policemen stood by and marvelled at some of the weapons used” by gangs enacting the violence. By all accounts, law enforcement and security experts during this time attributed the violence largely to members of Jamaica's two political parties, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People's National Party (PNP).   By February, a curfew was imposed in West Kingston as the violence reached a fever pitch. Months later on May 19, a tenement yard located at 182-184 Orange Street was set ablaze. When firefighters showed up to put out the fire, gunmen shot at them, preventing them from doing so. In its wake, eleven people were killed, eight of whom were children, and over 500 residents were left homeless. Days later, an inquiry was launched into the incident where ultimately, the chairman, R.H. Small, was unable to find any political connection to the incident. Still, that did not stop people from seeing it as a political act. As Amanda Sives would write in “Elections, Violence and the Democratic Process in Jamaica: 1944 to 2007:”

“Whether politics was the motive for the fire, and whether it was perpetuated by JLP or PNP gangs, there is no doubt it assisted in the construction of narratives of partisan violence”.

As history would have it, this is indeed what happened, for after the fire, the violence only intensified. When curfews and increased police patrols seemed ineffective, on June 19, 1976, the PNP-led government declared a State of Emergency - the second of its kind in Jamaica’s history. Three days later on June 22, while in parliament, the island’s Prime Minister, Michael Manley stated his reason for the policy:   

“Between 1972 and December 1975, it would be fair to say that the violence that this country suffered fitted into the traditional pattern, albeit on a somewhat wider scale that had been previously experienced. January 1976, marked a new and dangerous trend. Tragically, the events which have taken place since then have added a new dimension to violence, the dimension of urban terrorism, confrontation with the security forces and other agents of the State, and widespread arson.”

However, the state of emergency was not curbing the issue. It also did not help that on June 19, 1976, Herb Rose resigned from the JLP where he accused the party of perpetrating political violence to win the election. This escalated further when exactly a week later Manley, in a statement to parliament, stated that a plot to overthrow the government was uncovered where a briefcase containing information on this alleged coup was found in the possession of Peter Whittingham - a member of the JLP. The documents had a detailed plan called “Operation Werewolf” which contained information on local gunmen and ammunition as well as details about a guerrilla operation against the government. There was also a pamphlet which contained information of an “Anti-Communist League” which would be established during “Operation Werewolf”. Both Whittingham and the executive council of the JLP denied the allegations. 

Then, there was Pearnel Charles, one of the loudest critics of the government’s state of emergency, where he argued that the state were abusing their power and using the policy to go after supporters of the JLP. With this, the State of Emergency end up lasting for 350 days, during which security forces detained a reported 593 people, including a number of JLP supporters like Pearnel Charles, himself, and a then young Olivia “Babsy” Grange. But according to reports, during Charles' arrest, he was found to be in possession of police and military transmissions dated from May. 

With these news of plots against the government already taking hold of society, others were beginning to emerge. By August, rumours became rampant that foreign entities were sponsoring the political violence.

On one side, there were allegations that the PNP was sending operatives to Cuba to be trained in guerrilla combat. Many people found these allegations of the existence of PNP paramilitary operatives to be credible because of the Brigadista Programme, which had been established a year earlier in 1975. According to the government, the Brigadista Programme was created as a technical and skill exchange programme between Jamaica and Cuba. Through this, they stated that Jamaicans would travel to Cuba to learn skills training and education while Cubans would travel to Jamaica and help in hospitals, as medical personnels, and others on numerous construction projects. But many people were of the view that the programme was actually a cover for PNP supporters to be trained in warfare where they would come back to the island to instigate political violence. And no person would spread this rumour more than Edward Seaga, the then president of the JLP and the nation’s opposition leader. According to Seaga, “the participants in the Brigadista Programme, were being trained in guerrilla tactics, the use of arms and subversive activities while in Cuba.” Now at the time, there was no evidence to support  Seaga’s claims but many who took part in the programme, close to 1,000 people signed up in its first year, would be reviled upon their return home and in some cases subjected to political violence.

In 1985, Colin Dennis published “The Road Not Taken: Memoirs of a Reluctant Guerilla”, where he detailed his experience in the programme. According to Dennis, the program had two parts - one which focused on skills training and education while the other trained persons in guerrilla warfare where they were expected to come back to Jamaica and train PNP-aligned persons. But ironically, still to this day, Jamaicans continue to go to Cuba through a government exchange for educational purposes - mostly in the medical and veterinary sciences. 

Now on the other side of the spectrum, there were rumours that the United States was trying to destabilise the country to force Manley out of power. Michael Manley addressed these rumours in his book “Jamaica: A Struggle In The Periphery”. In it, Manley said: 

“Before the end of January, the US Embassy staff in Kingston was increased. Seven new staffers were flown in. Yet all aid to Jamaica suddenly slowed to a virtual halt. The pipelines suddenly became clogged. Economic co-operation contracted as the embassy expanded”. 

You can check out our Lest We Forget episode, “Henry Kissinger vs Jamaica: In The Words of Michael Manley” for more on Manley’s perspective on this history.

Then there is the mini scandal that took root in the country in September 1976 when ex-CIA agent, Phillip Agee visited the island and named nine CIA operatives who were operating on the island. According to Agee, the CIA was arming gangs to turn the population against the Manley government. As he would tell one interviewer at the time: 

“These gangs used paramilitary tactics to go into the shanty towns and they would seal off whole blocks; and with military tactics, hold the police and the fire department at bay while they burn down the whole block. And in some cases, they would throw children and babies back into the flames; and this of course, has served to turn the people against the government of Michael Manley” 

Agee’s book, “Inside the Company: C.I.A. Diary” eventually became a hit on the island. Still months prior, in the aforementioned June 22 speech, Manley said something similar to Agee:  

“This terrorism has been organised and is designed for the double political purpose of embarrassing the economy of Jamaica and undermining the confidence of the community in the democratically elected Government.” 

And as such, out of this came allegations that it was the JLP who were in cahoots with the CIA to destabilise the country with the end goal of forcing Manley out of power. Now to be clear, based on declassified information, we do know that the CIA was in the country at this time. What exactly was their collaboration with the JLP? Well, that is a whole other matter, as that information is yet to be declassified for public viewing. But according to the decorated economist, Dr. Michael Witter in the 2018 Netflix documentary, “Remastered: Who Shot The Sheriff.”

“There is a lot of evidence that the CIA was facilitating the activities of street fighters involved in the JLP” 

But Edward Seaga was asked multiple times throughout his life about the JLP’s relationship with the CIA in the 70s, to which he always stated that he had never interacted with any CIA agent. In his own words, “if the CIA was working they certainly didn’t make us know about it”.

Still, regardless of the opinions and claims of foreign interference on the island, nobody could deny that the violence was getting out of control. It was during this time that reggae superstar, Bob Marley, decided to step in with the motivation to help curb the situation. In October, discussions were held between Marley and the ruling government to put on a concert that would bring peace and unity nationwide. This concert, called Smile Jamaica, was scheduled for December 5th, 1976. Two weeks after this meeting, the ruling PNP government declared that the island’s general election would be held 10 days after this concert. But because of this exploitation of his image, Marley found himself wedged between the island’s opposing political factions. As Dr. Witter stated: 

“That made the Smile Jamaica concert appear to be supporting the campaign of the People’s National Party” 

Seaga had similar thoughts. As he stated in “Remastered: Who Shot The Sheriff”: 

“Michael Manley used Bob Marley’s decision for that concert so that it could assist him to get the votes that he knew he was lacking at the time, in order to win the election.”

So whatever goodwill that the PNP might get out of the Bob Marley concert, the JLP started to counteract. As Don Taylor, Marley’s manager, later recalled:

“We started getting messages from the opposition. They didn’t want it [Smile Jamaica] held at Jamaica House and they didn’t want it held here… and then finally on Friday, December 3, I got a message saying that they didn’t want the concert period”.

Because of this tussle, the situation with Marley only made Jamaica even more tense - especially as election day drew near and both parties officially kickstarted their respective campaigns. The PNP ran with the campaign slogan of “Heavy Manners” which the late political sociologist, Dr. Carl Stone, stated in his publication “The 1976 Parliamentary Election in Jamaica", symbolised their “popular use of extreme powers to control crime and political disorder”. On the other hand, the JLP utilised the phrase “Higher Up,” which Dr. Stone stated “symbolised its pro-establishment position,” largely feeding into its projected image “as a pro-U.S., pro-capitalist party equipped to re-establish fiscal solvency and good stable public management.” This was not the only difference between the parties. As Dr. Stone wrote: 

“The JLP had by virtue of its capitalist backing and apparent US based support vast sums of money to expend on the campaign. It could therefore afford the very long campaign which it conducted between September 1975 and December 1976. Its business executive leadership saw (not unexpectedly) mass media campaigning as a crucial strategy and at least $200,000 were spent on this area of the campaign. The PNP in contrast had no such vast resource base of cash and spent approximately $1 for every $10 expended by the JLP. The PNP used the resources of the state (vehicles, equipment, staff, money etc.) to mount its campaign. The JLP relied on an “action team” strategy whereby a group of top party leaders carried out a “blitz” in rural areas by spot meeting, motorcades, mass meeting and village by village “meet the people” processions.

And it's here, on one of these “blitzes” in Clarendon, that Mike Henry, a newcomer on the political scene would find himself; when the political tension that had been hovering all year finally exploded. 

A Blitz to Be Remembered

Lester Mike Henry, who in most formal settings goes by his middle and surname, was born in Jamaica in 1935. Educated at St. Catherine Elementary School and Beckford & Smith (now St. Jago) High, Mike journeyed to England to complete his tertiary education at Ealing Technical College. Getting his professional footing in publishing, he returned to the island at the dawn of the 1970s and set his sights on the fast food industry. Soon after, he established the would-be popular eatery franchise, Mike’s, Home of the Famous Nyamburgers. 

To learn more about the history of Mike’s, check out our Lest We Forget episode, “Mike’s Home of the Famous Nyamburgers”.

Due to the restaurant’s success, Mike was approached by, fellow businessman, Derrick Mahfood to enter politics. By 1976, he was selected as the JLP candidate for Central Clarendon. Central Clarendon was a newly created constituency and as such, for this upcoming election, the number of seats on offer in Clarendon increased from five to six. This would make the election season even more contentious as the new drawing of the electoral map benefited the PNP.

In Central Clarendon, Henry’s PNP opponent was Orville Delany Ramtallie, a long time PNP organiser who was nicknamed , “The Happy Warrior”. According to former PNP president PJ Patterson, in a 2021 article published in The Jamaica Observer titled, “The Happy Warrior’ OD Ramtallie served well”, Ramtallie earned that nickname “because whenever at officers’ meeting and some task of peculiar difficulty had to be tackled, Comrade Ramtallie would either immediately volunteer or undertake the assignment without a murmur.” Well, in the hostile, political climate of late 1976 Jamaica, no one was happy. 

And so it happens that on November 1st, Mike Henry would get his campaign underway; however, it was on this day, while on a motorcade in the community of York Town, that disaster struck. In an interview with the Lest We Forget team, this is how Henry recalled the campaign and the events of November 1st: 

“All of what I was doing was in respect of an area that was very important to me. Nobody has ever won Central Clarendon… I asked that I didn’t run that seat because I didn’t campaign in May Pen because that was never ever won even by Bustamante or Shearer as a part of that seat. They used to win on the hills so I went to live in Mocho - to be able to bring back the seat to the JLP. I requested that they chose somebody to run May Pen and allow me to run the seat where Mr. Shearer was… they said no - I would have to run May Pen. Remember at that time now, Hugh Small was in the next door seat. Remember at that time too, we were on the height of CIA, everything, all of what you’re talking about so it was a different kettle of fish. 

So on the day that we were to introduce who’s to run the seat, which was Mr. Lloyd Myers was chosen to run over in where Shearer was. And I was told to stay because Mr. Seaga insisted that I should run May Pen. I campaign May Pen only in the last six weeks of the campaign because I had been living in Mocho, campaigning in all the rest of the very large geographic seats then. So I run in May Pen.. and this is the time of the state of emergency and everything. 

On the morning we were to introduce Lloyd Myers, I got a call which said I should be very careful because something was going to happen on that day… I was asked to be on the lead position for the action team which I accepted. And in going through York Town, there was a uprising of some demonstrations and stoning of the vehicle from across a Mr. Williams’ yard, I think. I came out of my vehicle to walk in there to find out what was taking place. As I hit the gate, I now remember very clearly what someone said, ‘if you can hear the shot, you alright’. I only look down and saw blood flowing”. 

Henry’s blood was not the only one to be drawn that day. According to one front page write up of the incident, published in The Gleaner on November 2: 

“At approximately 1:00pm today a JLP Action Team motorcade on tour in the proposed constituency of South West Clarendon was attacked by a number of gunmen resulting in the shooting of 9 people. On reaching the PNP Constituency Office in York Town, South West Clarendon, the first unit in the motorcade was met with a hail of stones, bottles and bullets… Mr. Henry was shot in the face, abdomen and in both his lower legs. Also shot are Councillor Basil Lindsay of the May Pen North Division, who was shot in the neck, legs and chest and arm. Kidley Watson, JLP organiser in charge of enumeration, shot in the mouth, right eye and face. George Wilson of a Denbigh Crescent address was shot in the head, left side and right elbow. Keith Higgins of May Pen was shot in the right eye, right shoulder, right hand and thigh and in the left leg. Canute Wright of May Pen - shot in the mouth, forehead, left eye, left hand, chest and abdomen. Desmond Brown of York Town shot in the head and left knee. Desmond Powell  - shot in the head, face, right thigh. Roy Wright of May Pen shot in the right hand. The injured were rushed to the May Pen hospital but because of the absence of an X-ray machine, Mike Henry was rushed to a Kingston Hospital.” 

Not mentioned in this write up is Rohan Skier, a non-member of the motorcade, who was shot. He was taken to the Spanish Town hospital. Still, this incident made Mike Henry the first politician to be shot at during a general election campaign in post-independence Jamaica history. In our interview with Henry about the 1976 election, he confirmed that as a result of the shooting, he has over 250 pellets in his body and the incident also left him with a limb. On his injuries, Henry told us: 

“I’m told by the doctor what save me is the fact that the bullets… bird shooting season… was not being held regularly so the bullet was not penetrative enough. Because to explain what it is, the worse thing that I think would happen to me ever is to go blind” 

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, one report stated that the motorcade was fired on from the premises on which the PNP’s constituency office was located. As an act of retaliation, a building complex consisting of a shop, a dwelling house, postal agency and a PNP office, was set on fire. The day after the shooting, the then Minister of National Security, the Hon. Keble Munn, directed that, on that day henceforth, all political motorcades will be restricted to a maximum of ten vehicles. The minister also directed law enforcement to maintain a strong presence at all political motorcades and other political events. But even these measures, in the middle of a state of emergency, were insufficient  to deal with the onslaught of political violence. The shooting of Mike Henry marked a new era of Jamaican politics; now, the gloves were off.

Soon after, PNP candidate for St. Catherine, Ferdinand Neita was shot and severely wounded in Spanish Town while he was erecting a platform for a campaign meeting. In its aftermath, eight persons at the area’s JLP office were picked up for questioning. Then on December 3rd, gunmen blasted their way through Bob Marley’s home at 56 Hope Road. As a result of this assassination attempt on the reggae star’s life, Marley, his wife Rita and manager Don Taylor were injured in the attack. Still, despite the shooting and his injuries, Marley showed up and performed at the Smile Jamaica concert on December 5th. Immediately after, he went into a self-imposed exile from Jamaica, relocated to England. 

Soon after, the JLP reported that one of their members, Colin Williamson, the party’s candidate for St. Andrew Western, was attacked by a mob on December 13. According to the party, Williamson had to seek safety in a nearby police station but his car was shot at and then set on fire while one of his associates was injured after being attacked with a machete. In the middle of all of this, Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) organiser, Alexander Vincent, was killed at his home in Clarendon. About a week before the election, in a statement to the press, Seaga stated that a gas bomb was thrown into the Mocho home of Mike Henry. At the same time, two prominent leaders within the PNP, D.K. Duncan and Hugh Small, were shot at. 

In the aftermath of these events, on Monday December 13, two days before the election, all public meetings and marches were banned throughout the island under the Public Order Act. According to The Gleaner, “a statement by the competent authorities under the Emergency Regulations, Basil Robinson and Brigadier Rudolph Green, said the ban follows escalating political violence.” This order followed the already announced policy “that all processions, motorcades as well as political walks in which more than five persons accompany candidates on house-to-house canvassing” were banned. 

Yet, both political parties would use the escalating violence as part of their campaign marketing. For the PNP, one ad published in The Gleaner on December 10, 1976 reads as followed: 

WHO STANDS TO GAIN FROM VIOLENCE? 

The Government or those who seek to bring it down? 

FOR EXAMPLE… 

When Trench Town was set on fire during the presence of the world press earlier this year, WHO STOOD TO GAIN? 

When oil was poured on the roads to create havoc after the Sam Sharpe rally. Who STOOD TO GAIN? 

When 19 policemen were brutally killed in the period between January and June this year, WHO STOOD TO GAIN? 

When Orange Lane was burnt out which could make the people lose faith in the present Government. WHO STOOD TO GAIN? 

When the Tourist Industry was ruined by spreading false rumours abroad. WHO STOOD TO GAIN? 

When Bob Marley, well known for his songs against Imperialism was attacked on the eve of his FREE public concert to all Jamaicans,. WHO STOOD TO GAIN? 

When supporters were shot up and one killed in York Town on the eve of a major function to pay tribute to the Prime Minister for his 25 years of service to the workers of Jamaica, WHO STOOD TO GAIN? 

TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE. 

VOTE EARLY. VOTE PNP” 

This being published in the Gleaner was ironic seeing as throughout the campaign, the newspaper openly campaigned on the behalf of the JLP. 

Nevertheless, on the JLP end, one of their adverts published in The Gleaner on December 14, 1976 read: 

Who are the violent ones? 

Earl Woodburn Abducted by PNP Car in South West St. Andrew, Friday, apparently tortured - then stabbed to death. 

Union Leader Alexander Vincent shot dead in his home early Sunday morning in Clarendon. 

JLP Supporters are the victims. Who are the attackers? 

VOTE JLP

And So It Started…

When the election finally went underway on December 15, the PNP would retain their leadership, ultimately winning 47 of the 60 seats on offer and 56.77% of the votes casted. Even though there was relatively little violence on the day, the election was clouded in controversy. According to reports, a number of ballot boxes were stolen or tampered with. Then, there was the issue of overvoting where the constituencies flagged by the Chief Electoral Officer were: West Kingston, which was retained for the JLP candidate, Edward Seaga; South St. Andrew, retained by PNP candidate, Anthony Spaulding; and South West Andrew, which was flipped by PNP first-time candidate, Portia Simpson Miller. To this, the Chief Electoral Officer wrote in their report: 

“A check of the return from polling stations revealed that there were three constituencies with a high percentage of overvoting, namely, Kingston Western, St. Andrew Southern and St. Andrew South Western. I deeply regret this most unfortunate occurrence and sincerely hope that the Electoral Office continues to receive the full cooperation of the public, the politicians and security as we strive to put an end once and for all to overvoting or any other breach of the Representation of the People’s Act in all future elections.” 

Most importantly to this episode, Mike Henry was not one of the victors of this night. He lost his race to Ramtallie who gained 5,545 votes to Henry’s 4661. Henry expressed to us that regardless of the result, he never gave up on his goal to be a MP. As he told us: 

“It’s part of my nature to not accept defeat. And if you are defeated, you must rise again and fight back.”

Four years later he went up against Ramtallie once more, and this time, it was Mike who was victorious. He would remain as MP for Clarendon Central until his retirement from representational politics in 2024. This makes him the longest serving member of parliament in Jamaican history. 

But no one would not know that this would be the future of Henry’s political career when the sun set on election night of 1976, but what everyone did know was that this would not be the end of the island’s political violence. Four years later, during the infamous election of 1980, Roy McGunn became the first politician to be murdered as a result of the political warfare. But his death and the other events of 1980 all go back to that faithful day on November 1st 1976, when Mike Henry was shot - thus marking a turning point in Jamaica's political history.