General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Clement Rohee said yesterday that his party has no relations with self-confessed death squad member Shawn Hinds but confirmed that the man did visit the party’s Robb Street headquarters Free-dom House one day in last week and when questioned said he was there to see someone.
“There is no relation between the People’s Progressive Party and Shawn Hinds, none whatsoever,” the party’s general secretary said when questioned on the subject.
However, Rohee said that he did see Hinds sitting in the bottom flat of Freedom House and when he questioned him, Hinds said he was waiting to see an individual.
“I never asked him who was the someone; I just left and went away,” Rohee continued, but he later stated that Hinds was not “walking around the building.”
Asked if as the last minister of security he was not concerned with seeing Hinds, an individual who has faced serious charges including murder in the past and is now admitting to being a member of the death squad, Rohee said a man is innocent until proven guilty. A person has pre-trial liberty and a person can be charged and acquitted in court, he added. Hinds is on bail for a rape charge and he would have been acquitted of killing George Bacchus.
“Now if you have a man like that walking about the place whether it is a Shawn Hinds or a ball hinds, whatever the case may be, how are you going to judge him?” Rohee questioned. When it was pointed out that Hinds was in the party’s headquarters, he said, “It doesn’t matter, this is a public building.”
Asked whether Hinds was part of the party’s security detail, he said, “As far as I am aware as general secretary of the party up to the time when I assumed this position, I don’t know about any security being provided by Shawn Hinds for the People’s Progres-sive Party that is number one. Number two Mr Hinds can say what he wants to say.
He is free to say what he wants to say. But we can also dispute what he is claiming. There is no absoluteness in the truth insofar as anybody on the earth is concerned.”
He also said he is not aware of any relation between the party and Hinds
Hinds, in an explosive interview with Nightly News’ Travis Chase last week, indicated that he had gone into Freedom House to “clear his mind” after he learnt the police wanted him in connection with the murder of political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing. He said he met an official of the party who acted jittery when he informed him that the police want to question him about the murder of Crum-Ewing.
Hinds said in the interview that as a member of the death squad, he took orders from suspected death squad member Axel Williams who was subsequently murdered. Williams, according to phone records, was in contact with then home affairs minister Ronald Gajraj who himself was forced out of office following internal and international pressure over his believed involvement in the squad said to be responsible for a number of murders.
More recently Hinds, who is famous for saying after he was charged with murder that under the PNC he drank black tea but under the PPP he was drinking tea with milk, was bodyguard for former controversial acting town clerk Carol Sooba, who is said to be close to the party.
