Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon yesterday confirmed the names of the five-member Commission of Inquiry which will investigate the July 18 Linden killings stating that work should begin by August month end.
Luncheon told reporters at the Office of the President (OP) that Retired Chief Justice of Jamaica, Lensley Wolfe; Jamaican senator and Senior Counsel, K.D. Knight; former Trinidad senator and Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal; former Chancellor of the Judiciary, Cecil Kennard and former Justice of Appeal, Claudette Singh will sit on the Commission.
Asked when the commission is likely to begin its work, he responded “by the end of August, beginning of September. I did say that our feeling is that this activity should not exceed six to eight weeks”.
Meanwhile, Caricom in a statement said that it was following a request from the Government of Guyana that recommendations for members of the Commission were made by the Secretary General Irwin LaRocque after consultations. Wolfe, Knight and Seetahal were the three names recommended.
At the request of the Government of Guyana, the release said the Community has recommended three distinguished CARICOM Nationals to serve on a Commission of Inquiry which is expected to enquire into and report on matters related to the events of July 18.
Giving a background on the trio, the release said that Justice Wolfe is a distinguished jurist and former Chief Justice of Jamaica who is currently the Chairman of the Public Service Commission of Jamaica and also served as chairman of the Police Public Complaints Authority of Jamaica.
Knight, who is a practising attorney, has been a Senior Counsel since 1995, the release said adding that he has had a distinguished career in politics and law in Jamaica. He held positions in the cabinet of Jamaica including the portfolios of National Security and Foreign Affairs.
The release said that Seetahal, who is also a practising attorney, has been a Senior Counsel since 2006 and is a former Independent Senator in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament. She is also a former lecturer at the Hugh Wooding Law School in that country.
President Ramotar had given August 2 as the deadline for the Terms of Reference to be completed. On that day, there was a parliamentary sitting and the forum was used to announce the TOR, which were not well received by the AFC, which said that it was not a party to the agreement.
The commission has been named despite the fact that the TOR is still incomplete.
