High drama as commissioners visit Linden

By Vahnu Manikchand

“We want justice” was the chant of Lindeners greeting the commissioners of the inquiry into the shooting to death of three of their own as they began their visit to the mining town to have a first look at the scenes where the events of July 18 and days subsequent to that occurred. Scores of Lindeners stood in the scorching sun awaiting the commissioners.

Most of them, dressed in black, gathered at Casuarina Drive near the entrance to the Wismar-Mackenzie Bridge calling for justice for Allan Lewis, Ron Somerset and Shemroy Bouyea, who were fatally shot at the bridge as hundreds of Lindeners protested the hike in electricity tariffs.
The commissioners with the exception of Trinidadian Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal – Jamaican Senior Counsel Keith Knight; former Guyana Court of Appeal Justice Claudette Singh; former Chairman of the Judiciary, Cecil Kennard and the chairman of the injury, former Jamaican Chief Justice Lensely Wolfe – arrived in Linden around 11: 00h. They were greeted by the chants of Lindeners as they exited the bus.
The commissioners were welcomed by the Region 10 Chairman Sharma Solomon. The first place they were shown were the burnt remains of the Linmine Secretariat Building; the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Linden branch; Linden Care Foundation; and the Institute of Distance and Continuing Education (IDCE).
Standing on the Casuarina Drive entrance to the bridge, they were also told that someone was shot at the Casuarina Drive entrance to the Linmine Building. By this time, Assistant Police Superintendent Patrick Todd, and former E and F Divisional Commander, Senior Superintendent of Police Clifton Hicken arrived and the tempers of Lindeners flared, as they loudly shouted allegations at the two officers.
Some of the residents even rushed towards the officers, but were restrained by other ranks. About 20 minutes after their arrival, the commissioners proceeded to the Mackenzie/ Wismar Bridge where they were shown the locations of the protesters and the police on July 18. They were followed by the crowd; however they were prevented from clustering around the commissioners.
The commissioners observed the bridge’s length and width; no measurements were taken at that time but they were done later. Traffic across the bridge from both sides was stalled, causing confusion and exhaustion.
At the Wismar end of the bridge, the commissioners stopped and questioned both Todd and Hicken about their positions on the bridge. Also there was Constable Maxwell Grant, the officer who took pictures and videos of events in Linden. He pointed out some of the sites (Half Mile and One Mile) at the Wismar side of the bridge, where pictures and videos were taken.
Todd showed the commissioners where the police’s line formation was at the Mackenzie side entrance to the bridge. He noted that on his arrival to Linden about 06: 01h on July 18, he reported to the Wismar Police Station with his Half Unit and there was no crowd present at the time.
He added that he did not have access to the station for the remainder of the day, since the bridge was blocked by protesters. The commissioners then left the bridge to visit the One Mile junction (Four Corners) on the Winifred Gaskin Highway. The roadways in this area were blocked with burning tyres and other objects for days after the shooting.
The commissioners, after spending some 15 minutes there, left for the Wismar Police Station, which is along the Burnham Drive. At the station, the commissioners were shown the bottom flat of the station. They then left and headed back to the bridge, where they were met with a larger crowd at the Mackenzie end of the bridge.
The people kept ranting outside the bus in which the commissioners, attorneys and the two officers were travelling, as police tried in vain to remove them so that the bus can move forward.