Two and a half months after political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing was gunned down, investigators have had little success in finding his killers but the newly-appointed National Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has vowed that he will not allow the man’s death to become another unsolved crime.
“I would really like to take a look at that file and if there is going to be anything positive for the family it will be a reopening [of the case]. I am not going to close it like that, that is, make it an unsolved crime,” Ramjattan told Stabroek News at the Ministry of the Presidency moments after taking the oath of office.
There has been no recent update from the police on the investigation and from all appearances they have hit a dead end.
There were allegations that the Donald Ramotar administration, which was removed from office following the just concluded elections, was deliberately turning a blind eye to the case as two of its officials were implicated in Crum-Ewing’s death.
Asked what he intends to do with the case, Ramjattan said that “in view of the fact that there was an investigation done, you can very well get a consideration for a reopening of the case.”
He said if it is found that evidence was hard to get and there was an indication from the Crime Chief that there was nothing more to be done, he would have a review of the case.
Police had said that Crum-Ewing was walking along the roadway at Third Street, Diamond on March 10, when a car with four men drove up and shots were fired at him. Crum-Ewing, who was hit about the body, was subsequently taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. A post-mortem examination later revealed that he was shot five times, including three times to the head.
Police recovered a number of .32 spent shells at the scene but Crime Chief Leslie James has since said that ballistics tests have provided no leads. The police had also reviewed footage captured by cameras near the scene but this too proved useless.
Crum-Ewing, a 40-year-old father of three, was in the immediate period before his death urging persons in the area to vote the PPP/C government out of office at the May elections.
Persons have linked his murder to his political activism, saying that he most likely targeted by persons who made threats to his life after he refused to end his open criticism of the government. He had reported the threats to the police at the Brickdam Police Station and had mentioned the names of senior members of the PPP/C government.
The man’s relatives had expressed concerns that those persons were never questioned and when asked James said, “With regard to the report made by Courtney Crum-Ewing, that aspect [the report of threats] has been investigated and the police have taken action.”
For weeks, Crum-Ewing had staged a one-man picket outside the office of Attorney-General (AG) Anil Nandlall over statements the AG had made in a recording that was made public last year. It was as a result of this protest action that he said he was threatened.
At least eight persons had been arrested by the police in connection with the probe, but they were all subsequently released. No additional suspects have been arrested in recent times and there is no indication that the police have identified anyone who could be of importance to the outcome of the case. The police had also impounded a car suspected to have been the getaway vehicle.
Hopeful
Crum-Ewing’s mother, Donna Harcourt, is hopeful that she will get justice under the new government.
“I am giving them a little time to settle in before I approach. I want justice,” she said.
“I am asking the new government to please look into my son’s murder. I need justice for it. I know it will take time,” she added wearily. “I know I will get justice from this government of change.”
Harcourt along with her husband continued Crum-Ewing’s protest action in front of the AG’s chambers up until just before the elections. While she is no longer on the picket line, she said she is finding other ways to have her voice heard and her feelings ventilated, including utilising social media as much as she can.
She said she had heard nothing from the police or other authorities as it pertains to the investigation.
During an interview in early April, she had told Stabroek News that she was prepared to seek overseas help in the event that the police make no headway.
Police from the beginning have been criticised or their apparent lax attitude towards the investigation. There was nothing to indicate that in the moments after the shooting the police blocked off the sole entry/exit point or conducted stop and search operations within the community.
In addition, residents had said that the first set of cops who arrived almost immediately after the shooting were not from any of the stations in the area.
