Strongman facing deportation to US controls downtown Kingston

-peace institute member

(Jamaica Observer) A member of the Peace Management Initiative (PMI) says influential Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke has the power to prevent social disorder in downtown Kingston, should Government decide to have him extradited to the United States.

“No one else can, but he can institute a replacement system. If he knew he was going to go, he could begin to put a different order in place, which could prevent any explosion. In other words, he could begin to delegate more authority and he could begin to make efforts to remove those who are potential sources of problem,” said the PMI’s Horace Levy, who is also a fellow at the Institute for Criminal Justice and Security (ICJS).

“He could begin to institute a democratic arrangement. He could do it, if he were so minded and knew he was going to go. But if he does not do it and he goes suddenly, then it is not going to happen. Nobody from outside could do that; it can only be done with his permission,” added Levy, whose PMI has been at the forefront of fostering peace in several troubled communities in Kingston and other parishes.

Levy’s comments come at a time of mounting fear and apprehension among Tivoli Gardens residents and downtown Kingston business interests over the possibility that social upheaval could ensue from the removal of Coke, who is wanted in the US for alleged narcotics and arms trafficking.

“I understand from talking to a couple of people who are from Tivoli that there is a lot of tension down there. People are afraid of what will happen (in the event he is extradited). And they are afraid because Dudus is the one who controls things in Tivoli and maintains order,” added Levy. “When they removed the drug kingpins in Montego Bay, there was some violence that followed because having removed the top people, the lower-level people then began to fight among themselves,” he noted.

The western resort city drug kingpins Leebert Ramcharan and Donovan “Plucky” Williams were extradited to the US in 2007 to answer drug trafficking charges, prompting allegations of a spike in murders and other crimes among younger members of the criminal underworld in St James.

Levy said the situation in Tivoli was a little different, but said there was no questioning the prospect of social instability.

“The Tivoli scene is not the same (as in Montego Bay). You are talking about a group of close-knit people… So, everybody agrees that you don’t do this or you don’t do that. And in this case, the bond is imposed from above, so clearly when the top person is removed, there is the possibility that there could be an eruption,” he said.

At the same time, a Caribbean scholar with knowledge of the workings of inner-city communities across the region has pointed to the possibility of disruption in the day-to-day activities of Tivoli Gardens and downtown Kingston as a whole, should Dudus, also called “The President” or “Shortman”, be extradited.

The problem, said the scholar who requested anonymity, was that Government lacked legitimacy among the urban poor.

“For the people, legitimacy in the Government stops at Carib 5 cinema (in Cross Roads). From that point down, he (Dudus) is more legitimate than the Government. He has a monopoly of force and consensual power because he has legitimacy that the Government of Jamaica cannot even dream to have where the urban poor is concerned,” said the source.

The Government, he added, has a particular challenge on its hands as the US Government awaits a decision on their request to have Coke extradited to answer charges of drugs and arms trafficking.

“I don’t think they (the Jamaican Government) can stop it. The US normally gets what it wants,” he said.

Coke’s attorney, Tom Tavares-Finson, said the US Government would have to provide evidence to support the allegations against his client in order to get Jamaica to extradite him.

Said the Caribbean scholar: “What does a government do when they have created a government within a government? What do they now do when they have to hand up this government to another government?” he asked. “He (Dudus) can get kids to be off the street at 8:30 pm. The Government does not even have the power to scratch anybody’s hair much more to do something like that. People feel safer in Tivoli Gardens than anywhere else. It is the safest garrison. This is touchy. In a country that barely understands order, you have found somebody to provide order in the midst of chaos because downtown is chaos. What do you do with him?”

Tivoli Gardens, Coke’s stronghold, has for decades been an enclave of the Jamaica Labour Party, which was elected two years ago to form the Government, after more than 18 years in Opposition.

West Kingston, of which Tivoli is a major community, is represented in Parliament by Prime Minister Bruce Golding.