…says Fineman gang suspected miners to be informants

THE Lindo Creek miners, whose charred remains were discovered back in June 2008, may have been victims of a fatal robbery or may have been killed because of their suspected roles as informants of the Joint Services, an investigation conducted by the Military Criminal Investigation Department (MCID) suggested, even as it cleared the Joint Services of the allegation of mass murder.

For close to a decade, owner of the mining camp, Leonard Arokium, and other relatives and friends of the deceased have accused the Joint Services of mistakenly killing the miners – Dax Arokium, Cedric Arokium, Compton Speirs, Horace Drakes, Nigel Torres, Bonny Harry, Clifton Wong and Lancelot Lee – while in pursuit of a notorious gang led by Rondell “Fineman” Rawlins in the Upper Berbice River, Region 10.

But on Monday when the Lindo Creek Commission of Inquiry (CoI) public hearings recommenced at the CoI Secretariat at Waterloo Street, Georgetown, Major Andy Pompey who spearheaded the investigation into the allegations levelled against the Joint Services, said his findings cleared the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Guyana Police Force (GPF), which had carried out joint operations in the area, of any wrong doing. Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI), Ret’d Justice Donald Trotman, however, questioned the accuracy and completeness of the investigation on the basis that the person – Leonard Arokium – who had made the allegation against the Joint Services was not interviewed nor did any other civilian.

In the presence of the four lawyers who are representing the interest of the GDF, Major Pompey while fielding questions from the Commission’s Counsel Patrice Henry, disclosed that on June 25, 2008, he, while operating within GDF Military Police Department, was mandated along with three others to conduct an investigation into the allegations levelled against the Joint Services Teams, who were operating within the Kwakwani area back between June 6, 2008 and June 21, 2008. The other members of the investigating team were Officer Cadet Blanhum, Inspector Lowe and civilian Johnson.

The team, which operated out of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters at Eve Leary, was given from June 26, 2008 to July 8, 2008 to complete the investigation based on the established Terms of Reference (TOR).

Before a packed chamber, Major Pompey said that based on the investigation the miners were likely killed between June 11, 2008 and June 21, 2008 at a camp owned by Leonard Arokium at Lindo Creek, in the Upper Berbice River. It is believed that the miners were tortured, shot and burnt, he told the Commission.

Based on the investigation, he said it could have been possible that the miners were robbed and killed, or killed under the assumption that they were informants. “Possible motive of the killers could have been 1) robbery or 2) assumptions that the miners were informants working for the Joint Services,” Major Pompey told the commission as he read one of the key findings from the GDF investigation.

In keeping with the TOR, Major Pompey who was a Captain at the time, said that the investigation also confirmed that there were two Joint Services Special Operations Teams conducting operations in the Kwakwani area in pursuit of wanted man Rondell Rawlins and his gang. The operations reportedly commenced from June 6, 2008.

Leonard Arokium had said that he was informed by a woman, that men dressed in camouflage clothing, similar to that sworn by the GDF ranks and officers, had killed the miners. The miner had long expressed the opinion that the gang was not in the area at the time of the massacre, as he laid the blame at the feet of the Joint Services.

Major Pompey and his team, based on the investigation came up with possible reasons that could have led to the allegations being levelled against the Joint Services.

“There were two factors for the allegation of murder being levelled against ranks of the joint services. According to Mr. Arokium, the killers were in camouflage clothing, and spent shells recovered at the crime scene Lindo Creek, were similar to the type used by some members of the Joint Services,” he told the Commission.

Major Pompey, however, made it clear that during the investigation all arms and ammunition issued to the Joint Services Special Operations Teams were properly accounted. His colleague, Lieutenant Colonel Omar Khan, who later took the stand, told the Commission stories of missing arms and ammunition, some of which were recovered on crime scenes. Major Pompey had interviewed two GDF pilots, Mike Charles, and, Courtney Burns, along with the ranks of the two Joint Services Special Operations Teams – ‘A’ and ‘B’.

During those interviews, the investigators were reportedly told that some members of Team ‘A’ were aware of the Lindo Creek Mining Camp based on discussions they had with Clifton Wong, one of the murdered miners. According to their testimonies they had never physically visited the mining camp.

“Some members of the Joint Services were familiar with Clifton Wong. It was established that Mr. Wong was transported by the Joint Services Special Operations Group ‘A’ Team on the 10th June from UNAMCO Check Point to Kwakwani. He rejoined and returned to the checkpoint at UNAMCO on the morning of June 11, 2008. He was then taken to a location between the check point and Christmas Falls area. Mr. Wong claimed that his camp was located in an area off the trail where he came off,” Major Pompey said while summarising statements given by the ranks.

Based on his investigation, he told the Commission that the allegation levelled against members of the Joint Services was not substantiated, and as such the investigating team concluded the Joint Services Special Operations Group was not responsible for the mass murder.

“The investigating team expressed the opinion that the allegations of murder made against ranks of the Joint Services were from pure speculation and accusation. Further, it must be noted that some members of the Joint Services rendered assistance and advice to Mr. Wong. Also, both of the Joint Services Special Operations Teams, arms and ammunitions were properly accounted for,” Major Pompey said as he read from the report, he had helped compile.

However, he admitted that the miners should have been notified of the operations that were being conducted in the Kwakwani-Christmas Falls area by the Joint Services and given orders to evacuate immediately.

Legal Counsel Henry and Commissioner Trotman repeatedly questioned Major Pompey as to why civilians were not interviewed during the investigation. He would only say that the investigating team was “restricted’ from doing such and the interviewees appeared before the team.

His colleague, Lieutenant Colonel Khan, later clarified that the investigation was an internal one, noting that if interviews were to be conducted, it would have been the responsibity of the Guyana Police Force to do so. The GDF is being represented by Attorneys-at-Law Leslie Sobers and Roysdale Forde, in addition to two in-house GDF attorneys, Melissa Yearwood-Stewart and Colonel Michael Shahoud.