Questionable Conduct: The Jamaican Political Reality

              Date: August 24, 2009 Time Early afternoon Place: Vale Royal Topic: The Extradition of Christopher “Dudus” Coke Participants: Prime Minister, Hon. Bruce Golding                      Chief Defence Staff, Major General Stewart Saunders                     Commissioner of Police, Rear Adm. Hardley Lewin Only PM and the CDS gave testimony at the Tivoli COE. No reason was given for the omission of the COP. A review of the verbatim notes reveal some very interesting anomalies which will have to be resolved in the Commission’s Report. For example: i) Duration: PM Golding testified that the meeting lasted “no more than five minutes" ; whereas the CDS said that “.. we spoke with the PM for about fifteen or twenty minutes”.  Lewin elsewhere has given the impression that the meeting was unexpectedly brief: “So the PM says”...

            Apart from making a phone call to Prime Mister Bruce Golding informing him that COP Hardley Lewin and CDS Major General Stuart Saunders was in his company and had certain information which would be on interest to him, what else did Minister of National Security, Hon. Dwight Nelson, do in respect of the extradition of Christopher “Dudus” Coke? It is very difficult to avoid the answer: “Next to nothing”. • There is no evidence before the Tivoli COE from which one could even reasonably infer that Nelson made another phone call concerning the impending request. • Minister Nelson did not accompany the COP and the CDS to the Prime Minister and did not discuss with either of the heads of the security forces or the Prime Minister what took place at that meeting. • The Minister admitted that he absolutely did not have any responsibility in the extradition matters. • At no stage did the Minister of National Security get involved. • Nelson h...

We have had the opportunity to scrutinize the verbatim notes of the testimony given before the Tivoli COE by the then Commissioner of Police (COP) Owen Ellington.We are somewhat bewildered by some of the revelations made to the COE. Below are some of the most disconcerting: Ellington acted as COP between November 7, 2009 to early April 2010 when he assumed the substantive position until retirement  in 2014. Before that he was DCP in charge of Operations.Yet he only became aware of the request pending for the extradition of Christopher "Dudus" Coke via media reports and knew nothing of any "soft detention " consideration. On May 17, 2010 Ellington heard of the intention of the AG to sign the Authourity to Proceed via the national public broadcast made by then Prime Minister Bruce Golding.On hearing such news the COP-- who had been planning with the CDS Major General Stuart Saunders from mid November or early December 2009--did not immediately make contact with ...

The Report of the Tivoli COE is expected around mid-April , some two (2) months after the end of the public hearings. Those public hearings took place over some fourteen (14) calendar months. The Terms of Reference (TOR) of the Western Kingston Commission of Enquiry states iner alia: “ 2. The Commission shall use its best efforts to conclude its enquiry within three (3) months after it commences, and shall make a full and faithful report on and recommendations concerning the aforesaid matters, and transmit the same to His Excellency the Most Honourable Governor General, within two (2) months after concluding its enquiry.”  Obviously there was the expectation that the public hearing would have lasted some three (3) consecutive calendar months from the date of commencement baring any unavoidable and unforeseeable delays. Similarly the Report should be submitted to the Governor- General within two (2 ) consecutive calendar months of concluding of its enquiry, baring any u...