Commissioners Question Mysterious Detainee List

Andre Poyser

Staff Reporter

When the West Kingston Commission of Enquiry resumed yesterday, the attention of lawyers and commissioners was directed to a mysterious list of about 400 detainees which appears to have been compiled on the day that the security forces entered Tivoli gardens to capture Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.

The list, which forms part of a set of documents submitted to the commission by former Prime Minister Bruce Golding, is a mobile reserve detainee listing, which was among operational documents received by Golding from the security forces after the Tivoli operation.

The document was referenced during Golding's cross examination when he retook the witness chair at the commission yesterday.

The counsel for the commission questioned Golding about the source and date of the list.

"It is said that the documents may have been commingled, and as a result of that, I am not able to determine if the documents came from the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force) or the JDF (Jamaica Defence Force) and when I actually received it. I am a little perplexed because the document is dated the 24th of May, which is the first day of the operation," Golding said.

Golding went on to disclose that he does not believe that the list could have been compiled on May 24, 2010, given the detailed nature of the list. He indicated that the list contained dates of birth, addressed and even the place of employment of persons named. He also said he does not remember when he received the list.

For his part, Former Police Commissioner Owen Ellington, when quizzed about the document, was not allowed to answer as JDF attorney Deborah Martin intervened, noting that the questions pertaining to the document would be best answered by Assistant Commissioner of Police Leon Rose.