Chairman of the Linden Commission of Inquiry (COI), former chief justice of Jamaica Lensley Wolfe says the two lawyers appointed as counsel to the commission are not decision makers and there are steps in place to prevent any improper meddling.
“Counsel to the commission are not the decision makers and the procedures set out provide the commissioners with the power to prevent any improper interference with the outcome of the inquiry,” Wolfe said in a brief response to the objection made by APNU MP Joseph Harmon about the naming of two attorneys—Euclin Gomes and Ganesh Hira—associated with the law firm of Attorney General Anil Nandlall, as counsel to the COI.
Harmon, late yesterday afternoon, confirmed that he had received the response through a letter from COI Secretary, Attorney Ronald Burch-Smith. He expressed dissatisfaction with the response, adding that his party’s “decision stands”.
APNU, during a press conference on Thursday, warned that the presence of Gomes and Hira could create a bias that could affect the evidence that goes before the commission. “What you have now is a filter between the citizens and the commission itself and that filter is those two attorneys that have been placed there. We do not want any filter of that nature that can be tainted by a certain level of bias that could affect what comes before the commission,” Harmon told reporters.
Several APNU lawyers travelled to the Linden on Thursday and took statements from eyewitnesses; one of the duties of the two counsel.
A letter released by APNU, stated that it was a known fact that Gomes is attached to the Chamber of Nandlall and Associates and that Hira uses the said address for his legal matters.
“A Partnership for National Unity finds it unacceptable for an inquiry of this nature, where a term of reference requires the commission to pronounce on the involvement of the Minister of Home Affairs in the event being inquired into, that persons so closely connected to the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs will have such a pivotal role in the work of the Commission of Inquiry.
“We urge that the commission engages in a wider process of advertisement and consultation in the legal community before these appointment(s) are made,” the letter stated.
Nandlall in a response to Stabroek News had said that the objection was without merit and one that he would ignore.
The COI into the shooting, which left three Lindeners dead and up to 20 others injured after police opened fire on protestors near the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge on July 18, is expected to begin later this month. Lindeners were protesting over the increase in electricity tariffs.
Specifically, the inquiry will look at which unit was deployed at the scene at the bridge and what was its composition and at its training, individually and collectively, in preparation for the crowd control operation. It will also determine whether the fatal shootings were committed by the police deployed on the bridge and, if so, who gave the order to fire and whether the police had justification for the use of lethal force at the scene.
The instructions given to the detachment as well any instructions that may have been given by the Home Affairs Minister to the police force to maintain law and order in Linden immediately before, during and immediately after the events on July 18, form part of the terms of the inquiry as well.
Apart from the shooting, the commission’s mandate includes inquiring into the nature of the violence and destruction and its perpetrators that immediately followed the July 18 shooting. Further, it is to make recommendations to assist the police in “effectively and professionally discharging their responsibilities for the maintenance of law and order” in Linden and other communities without endangering their own safety and that of innocent persons. They also include making recommendations for compensation where necessary for injury, loss or damage as a consequence of the events of that day.
The other commissioners who were appointed by the president are Senior Counsel KD Knight of Jamaica, Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal of Trinidad and Tobago and Justice of Appeal Claudette Singh. Cecil Kennard, a former Chancellor of the Judiciary is the fifth commissioner but he is yet to be sworn in as he is out of the jurisdiction on vacation.
