The hearings of the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (COI) commenced today and already we are having some insight into how the PNC government covered its tracks after murdering the world renown historian and anti-dictatorship campaigner. Taking the stand today was newly appointedCrime Chief Leslie James. James presented a series of documents which will be useful in the commission's work. However what stood out was his presentation of a set of files sequentially numbered from 8 to 10. He testified that they were in fact the files of the Police Special Branch Unit which were relative to Rodney.
When asked if the files captured Special Branch's surveillance of Rodney prior to his death he explained that those might have been captured in the numbers 1 to 7 but that those files are unaccounted for.
Also coming to light was the foot-dragging of the authorities under the PNC led government in investigating the matter. Rodney was murdered in June of 1980 and a coroner's inquest held some 6 years later was aborted midway through. It was only after a change in government when the PPP came to power following elections in 1992 that a serious and credible effort was made to investigate Rodney's murder. The commission was told it was not until 1996 that the police were able to conduct any sort of investigation which allowed them to build a case against former army rank Gregory Smith. An arrest warrant was issued by then Magistrate K.Juman Yassin in 1996.
source:http://www.newguymedia.com
