Questionable Conduct: The Jamaican Political Reality

The Tivoli COE was mandated to have its public hearings conducted within a 3-month time period. The Commissioners exceeded this time span and did so without seeking the appropriate extension from the Governor- General. Two concerns come readily to mind:  Having ignored the protocol, what is the legal status of the public hearings conducted after the stipulated time span had expired? and  What were the circumstances that accounted for the overrun and where such unforeseen and/or unavoidable ? i) We are not in a position to state definitively if the overrun has altered the legal status of the public hearings conducted after the stipulated 3-month. Having not sought or obtained the extension, then it would seem that an argument could be made that the public hearings conducted after the expiry of the mandate would have no legal standing. Hence, the Commissioners would be barred from taking into their consideration any evidence given after the expired date. Consequently...

The Terms Of Reference Of The West Kingston Commission of Enquiry mandates the enquiry into inter alia: “(n) whether there was any direct or indirect communication between the fugitive  Christopher “Dudus” Coke, and any Jamaican Government Official (or Officials) or  any agent thereof, during the period between when the Request for Extradition was  first communicated to the Jamaican Government or any of its agents or officials  and when the fugitive Christopher “Dudus” Coke was arrested;  and if so, by which  Officials and or agents thereof, the nature of any or all such communications, by  what means and for what purposes.” No evidence has been adduced before the COE from which the inference could be made that any official of the Government of Jamaica directly or indirectly contacted Christopher “Dudus” Coke regarding the imminent request for his extradition. ( See our Tivoli COE: Who tipped off Dudus? ) Both the then Minister of National...

Christopher “Dudus” Coke was captured on June 22, 2010. The public was given scarcely any details on the operation. The published photograph of Coke wearing a female wig —the camouflage Coke was alleged to having been wearing in the company of Reverend Al Miller,drew substantial public (derisive?) commentary. The testimony of CDS, Major General Stewart Saunders before the Western Kingston Commission of Enquiry on June 23, 2015 gives some insight into the capture: Intelligence reports had placed Coke in St Ann and a number of operations had been launched to capture him. The reports were unable to verify his exact location. On June 22,2010 Coke left St. Ann. Intelligence resources picked up Coke somewhere in the region of Ewarton, Bog Walk entering the Gorge. Reports also indicated that Coke was in the company of Rev. Al Miller and that he was on his way to the US Embassy in Kingston. Interestingly, it was the Chairman himself who examined the Major General on the circumstances...

From the evidence adduced at the Western Kingston Commission of Enquiry there was no joint Police-Military operation in May 2010 with the prime purpose of executing the arrest warrant for Christopher “Dudus” Coke. Officially, the warrant for the arrest of Coke was the remit of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). However, given the very limited capabilities of the JCF, the assistance of the Jamaica Defence (JDF) was critical to any such operation, even more so given the influence and resources of the Don in question. So in all operations even a token presence of a member of the JCF was mandatory outside of a declared state of emergency. In the latter case the army is given overwhelming police powers, chief among which is the power to arrest. Hence under a declared state of emergency army units need not have a member of the JCF present. It is against this background that the operation to capture Coke must be assessed. • The surveillance party was composed of resources from t...

              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 ...