Eight years have gone by since the burnt remains of eight miners were found at Lindo Creek and the wife of the camp owner is calling on the government to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the tragedy, which she says has left more questions than answers in its wake.
Jackie Arokium, who resides in the United States, said that to date there is still speculation and suspicion and she, like the other relatives of the deceased, wants answers for closure.
“I am making a plea to the new administration, to remember us, the families, to solve this mystery that continue[s] to haunt us each day as we all need to know what happened to our loved ones,” the woman said.
Her son, Dax Arokium, his uncle Cedric, Compton Speirs, Horace Drakes, Clifton Wong, Lancelot Lee, Bonny Harry and Nigel Torres were identified as the victims of what has now become known as the ‘Lindo Creek massacre.’
The woman called specifically for a Com-mission of Inquiry (CoI), while stating that with the change in government she expects that the matter will be reopened and a full scale probe launched to not only definitively determine if the notorious Rondell ‘Fine-man’ Rawlins, who is now deceased, or the joint services, which had been implicated, had any role in the heinous crime but also to highlight the true reasons behind the killings.
The burnt bones and skulls of the men were discovered on June 21 by Leonard Arokium, the camp owner. It is believed that the miners were killed sometime between June 9 and June 10, 2008, before their camp was set alight.
It was Leonard who first accused the joint services of committing the gruesome act, which led to denials. It was claimed that the motive of the security forces was a grab for gold. No gold was discovered at the camp at the time the burnt bodies were discovered.
Leonard said that he had received a phone call from a woman who told him that some “soldiers” had shot and killed his men and burnt their bodies. Later, he said, he received a second phone call. This time, Leonard explained it was a man calling and he told him the same thing.
Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan’s position is that the matter cannot be reopened unless there is new evidence as had occurred in the Babita Sarjou case. He indicated that he does not have a “brief” on the Lindo Creek killings. When asked about his willingness to look into the matter, he said, “All of these things depend on any new information we got…I do not know whether the police got any further information that could reopen the case.”
He indicated that he would inquire about the status of the matter.
In June, 2013, the then opposition APNU, which is now a part of the coalition government, had called on then Home Affairs Minister (Clement Rohee), the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Criminal Investigation Department of the Police Force to redouble their efforts to ensure that those responsible for the murders were brought to justice without any further delays.
An emotional Jackie told Stabroek News that there had been so many leads, including someone having her son’s phone and being arrested and later released on bail. “All calls that was made could have been investigated. No one seemed to care for whatever reason, and so I ask if there something to hide,” she said.
The woman continuously stressed her disappointment that no attention has been paid to the case. “It is not the right thing. I believe that as citizens the government owe us something if we are grieving,” she stressed, while making it clear she is also talking on behalf of the relatives of the other miners who perished.
Her position is that “something is missing” and the only way to find it is through an inquiry.
“Whoever they be don’t deserve to be out there living a good life,” she said, while adding that the miners left behind children and wives who have all been affected in one way or another.
Jackie said things have not been close to easy for her, much less the other relatives.
When the discovery was made, she was not in Guyana and at first she was in denial. Then reality dawned on her and acceptance led to grief.
She said that in the initial stages, all she could think about was the perpetrators being brought to justice and she never left room for disappointment of it not materialising. Over the years, it hit her that justice would take longer to come than she anticipated.
The woman told Stabroek News that although ‘Fineman’ was implicated in the crime, she was not convinced. “We don’t believe that, we believe that it was something more than that. Even if it was him, then prove to us that it was him,” she said, in a challenge to the government to get to the bottom of the eight-year-old mystery.
“We would be so happy if we have a CoI to resurface this case. We need to know what happened. It is very important that we get closure,” she stressed.
Meanwhile, Lancelot Lee’s mother, Teresa, continues to be overwhelmed with grief. Now age 74, the woman said that she continuously remembers how the fourth of her six children left home never to return. “I think about it how he gone to work and I never see him back,” she said before erupting into tears.
“I would like to know how he dead. I don’t know what take place. I can’t jump and say nothing ’cause I wasn’t there. I did not see the body or bones or nothing,” the elderly woman said. She added that on the death anniversary this year, her church held a simple memorial service, during which the names of all the miners were called and prayers were said.
With regards to her attending an inquiry if one is held, Teresa said that she would have to take into consideration that it might be too emotional for her.
Whose bones were buried?
Meanwhile, Jackie questioned whether the bones buried are indeed that of the miners. She said that she was suspicious, especially since only one family was present at the funeral. She was referring to Torres’ parents, Yonette and Edmond Torres.
According to her, the families of the miners lived in different parts of the country and she could not comprehend how police managed to make contact with relatives living in Kwakwani when others were living in areas that were more accessible.
Police had insisted that all the relatives were notified about the burial but at least one of them had denied this. Yonette Torres had said that police called her and subsequently provided $6,000 for her to travel to Georgetown from Kwakwani after she told them that she was unable to pay her passage.
“What was in that box I want to know if it were indeed those bones,” Jackie told Stabroek News, while adding that a major part of her disappointment is that bones were left behind by sleuths. She recalled that during this newspaper’s later visit to the site, bones were found.
Though she does not know what the boxes hold, she said that every time she visits Guyana she would visit the spot in the Le Repentir Cemetery where they are buried.
Stabroek News was present at the funeral service, which was held at the Lyken’s Funeral Home on September 11, 2012. The bones were placed in three coffins. One coffin had the name ‘Clifton Wong’ printed on it; ‘Nigel Torres’ was on another and ‘Bonny Harris’ on the third. During the service, no mention was made of the other five men.
Jamaican forensic experts, after three years of being in possession of the bones, were able to confirm that they did belong to the slain men. However, the experts were unable to group together the body parts of each of the men
“I am hoping that the government can do something. It is a plea because I live in hope that with this change in government that one of these days we will know,”Jackie said.
Like many, she believes that someone out there has vital information but is afraid to come forward out of fear.
When contacted in 2013, then Crime Chief Seelall Persaud had said that police had an eye witness to the crime in protective custody. Persaud had said back then that police were not looking for anyone but unless otherwise directed the case would remain open. He made it clear that all of the suspects in the Lindo Creek killings are now deceased.
Then police Commissioner Henry Greene, who is now deceased, had said that the eyewitness had given investigators a detailed account of what transpired at the camp. Greene had said that the identity of the witness could not be disclosed.
According to Greene, “the eyewitness has said that the men were attacked by ‘Fineman’ and his gang. They went there at night. Basically, they attacked the men. They tied them up, they cooked, etcetera, and then the next night they were shot and killed.”
He added that the eyewitness related that, after the shooting, one of the victims was still alive, and he was beaten with a hammer until he succumbed.
Stabroek News had reported that a man said he had witnessed what happened at Lindo Creek and that he wanted residents of Berbice River communities to help him get an audience with the President.
The residents to whom the man has spoken had told Stabroek News that he has abandoned his home out of fear and currently moves from place to place. They had said he had been saying the same thing for months but that the police had run him off when he went to them and warned him not to repeat what he was saying to anyone.
