THE Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the 35-year-old 1980 bomb explosion that killed world renowned historian and leading figure of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Dr Walter Rodney, will have to wrap up its hearings and come to a conclusion shortly, as Head of State Brigadier (rtd) David Granger, has indicated a desire to have no more extensions.President Granger made the disclosure on Friday last following the swearing-in of another batch of government ministers, and made it clear to members of the media that he was not in any way scrapping the COI.

The President expressed the view that enough time and money has been wasted behind the COI.

“The Rodney Commission has not performed adequately,” President Granger said, adding: “A lot of time and money have been wasted, and I would like to bring it to a conclusion as early as possible.”
During his engagement with media operatives while at the Ministry of the Presidency, His Excellency said, “It (Rodney COI) has already received several extensions, and money is being wasted.”
NOT SCRAPPING COI

He maintained that he was in no way looking to scrap the COI but rather, “I would like to bring it to a conclusion as early as possible; it must finish its work.”
The President added, “I don’t envisage more extensions.”
He reminded that the COI into Dr. Rodney’s ‘assassination’ commenced ever since February last year.
This COI was set up by former President Donald Ramotar who had conceded that while it would have been an expensive venture, it would have been money well spent.
The former president had said that the request for the COI came from the wife of the slain WPA activist.

The Guyana Government hired three Caribbean jurists to serve on the three-member commission, namely: Barbadian Queen’s Counsel, Sir Richard Cheltenham, (Chairperson), Queen’s Counsel Jacqueline Samuels-Brown from Jamaica and Senior Counsel Seenath Jairam from Trinidad and Tobago.

Dr. Rodney was killed when a bomb exploded in his lap instantly killing him. He had just retrieved an improvised ‘walkie talkie’ reportedly from Guyana Defence Force Sergeant (GDF) Gregory Smith, which in fact turned out to be a bomb.
Over the years a number of theories have been proffered in relation to the late historian’s tragic death, including the claim that he was killed on the direct orders of the State and that he had also been a victim of his own misadventure.

Dr Rodney was killed instantly when a bomb exploded in his lap while he was seated in the passenger seat of his brother’s Mazda Capella motor car, PBB 2349, in John Street, near Hadfield Street in the vicinity of the Georgetown Prisons on the night of June 13, 1980. Rodney was widely known in Third World countries, and he was best known for authoring the book “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.”

By Gary Eleazar