Georgetown: Attorney- at-law Nigel Hughes has accused former Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, and the top brass of the police and army of ignoring offers of assistance from a reputable British forensic firm to conduct an independent investigation into the Lindo Creek killings.
Hughes also said that he had informed Commissioner of Police, Henry Greene, that individuals appeared to be using the cell phone of Dax Arokium, one of the slain miners.
And in a “testy exchange” with Greene, he had accused the Top Cop of stalling the investigation.
Families of the eight Lindo Creek victims, through their attorney Nigel Hughes, had made several requests for Forensic Science Service – a UK government-owned company which provides forensic science services to police forces and government agencies of England and Wales – to conduct an independent investigation into the mass murder, but to no avail.
The charred remains of Cecil Arokium, Dax Arokium, Horace Drakes, Bonny Harry, Lancelot Lee, Compton Speirs, Nigel Torres and Clifton Berry Wong were discovered on or about June 21, 2008 at Lindo Creek in the Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice Region by dredge owner, Leonard Arokium.
Taking the stand armed with a file containing several statements and news clippings, Hughes told the Lindo Creek Commission that miner George Arokium had retained his firm in late June 2008, to ensure the families of those slain got “an independent and fair” investigation.
The attorney recounted that on June 30, he sent a letter to Commissioner Greene.
“I indicated to him that we had noted his public commitment to a fair investigation.”
According to Hughes, he notified the Top Cop that his firm had contacted a United Kingdom forensic science firm, which had indicated its willingness to assist in the investigation.
Copies of the letter were also sent to the Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Gary Best, Hughes said, noting that at the time the families had feared that the police and army were involved in the killings.
In his letter, Hughes told Greene: “You will no doubt appreciate that given your public statements that members of the Guyana Police Force or the Guyana Defence Force were not involved in this dastardly incident, that any independent review or analysis by persons competent in the arena of forensic examination will only serve to corroborate your exoneration of members of the GPF or the army…
“Our clients are extremely concerned about the integrity or impartiality of any investigation conducted by either the Guyana Police Force or the Guyana Defence Force into the deaths of their relatives, given their fears that members of either the Guyana Police Force or Guyana Defence Force, or both, might have been involved in the deaths of their relatives.”
The attorney said that Commissioner Greene responded on June 1, 2008, acknowledging receipt of the letter. He said that Chief-of-Staff Best did not respond.
But Hughes said he then learnt “by public statements by Greene”, that the Government was seeking assistance from a US forensic team.
Hughes said, he again wrote to Greene indicating that the UK forensic sciences experts were available.
In his letter to Greene, Hughes stated that his firm was in contact with the UK forensic science experts.
He said that his letter to Greene included the qualifications of one of the experts, along with an e-mail dated June 30, in which the expert included his recommendations and likely costs.
That letter was also dispatched to Home Affairs Minister Rohee; the British High Commissioner and Chief-of-Staff Best. Rohee never responded.
According to Hughes, his firm also expressed concern that the crime scene was being “contaminated and degraded as time passed, and we wanted our experts to observe the entire process in the investigation.”
After the US team indicated that it was “either not willing or available,” Hughes wrote to the Commissioner saying that the UK experts were in Trinidad and could come “at very short notice.”
Greene, he said, responded in a letter indicating that the US team was no longer available “and I should maybe refer to Rohee” about the UK forensic team.
According to Hughes, he would later be involved in “a testy exchange” with Greene, in which he indicated a loss in confidence in the ability of Guyana Police Force to conduct a fair investigation.
“You will no doubt recall, that when it became apparent that the capacity to conduct an comprehensive independent investigation into these gruesome murders was beyond the capacity of the Guyana Police Force, we secured, retained and recommended to you one of the premier investigative services in the world…an offer you declined, despite the fact that the Americans had made it clear that they were unable to provide any assistance because of budgetary constraints,” Hughes’s letter to Greene stated.
“Our client learnt through the press that you had an expressed preference for forensic services from Trinidad and Jamaica…
“It might have slipped your recollection that our client has not been informed of the results of the DNA identification procedure, which was apparently conducted by the Jamaican experts.
“This is a continued source of considerable pain for all of the relatives of the deceased, as they were unable to have the remains of their deceased relatives scientifically identified, so that they could bring closure to this extended period of agony.”
In his “testy exchange,” Hughes also indicated to Greene that, “since at the end of June we had offered these services, it appeared that he (Commissioner Greene) had deliberately delayed the investigation.”
Hughes also told the Commission that in August 2008, his firm received information that the cell phone of slain miner Dax Arokium was being used.
“We managed, through our own resources, to get a printout of all the calls that had been made from his phone. We believe that phone was being actively utilized. “
He said one call was made in August 18, at around 14:04 hrs. The calls continued up to August 25, 2008.
Hughes said that his firm tried both the listed and blocked numbers, and got responses on two occasions. But the individuals answering terminated the calls when “we didn’t provide the appropriate response.”
Hughes said he informed Commissioner Greene of the use of the slain miner’s phone. According to the attorney, Greene denied having information about Dax Arokium’s phone number.
“We responded that this is not correct; Mr. Arokium had specifically provided that information to the police officers and…the Minister of Home Affairs who visited his home. “
Meanwhile, on September 20, 2012, in a letter addressed to the then Police Commissioner Leroy Brummell, Hughes on behalf of his clients, expressed disappointment that the remains of the miners had been buried without their families being notified.
Brummell responded and included a report of the investigation in his correspondence.
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