-Corporal Hopkinson’s family says
Relatives of Corporal Wesley Hopkinson who died during a mishap in the Cuyuni River, say there are “gaps” in the report the Board of Inquiry presented to them after its investigations.
“There are gaps in the reconstruction of the event in the Cuyuni River,” Savvie Hopkinson told Stabroek News on Tuesday. She said the four surviving soldiers gave varying accounts of the incident which has left a number of unanswered questions and has made the family doubtful about the army’s explanation. Hopkinson, who is the victim’s younger sister, has acted as the family’s spokesperson since the incident.
In a press statement the day after the mishap the Guyana Defence Force had said several ranks stationed at Eteringbang had been involved in a boating mishap on the Cuyuni River at about 8.30 pm during which Hopkinson and 20523 Lance Corporal Colwin Harris went missing. It said investigations had then revealed that six soldiers were aboard the GDF vessel which collided with a civilian vessel. Preliminary reports had indicated that four soldiers were thrown into the river; two made it back to the safety of the boat though 27-year-old Hopkinson and 21-year-old Harris did not. Their colleagues immediately set about scouring the area in an effort to locate them.
“Search parties which included help from the civilian population in the area were launched resulting in the recovery of Hopkinson’s body some 15 miles from the area where the accident occurred,” the release had said. Harris’ body was recovered shortly after. The GDF had also said that it had dispatched a team to the area to investigate and that a Board of Inquiry had been convened. The results from that inquiry were presented to the families early last week.
In a press release issued last week the army found the deaths of the two corporals were due to drowning. However, the Board also found “administrative breaches to the Force’s Standing Orders” that will result in disciplinary action against those found guilty. Meanwhile, the Hopkinson family said it will be following the matter closely to see what eventual disciplinary procedures will be applied.
At the same time, the family said it was grateful to GDF Chief of Staff Commodore Gary Best for his “personal interventions”. Hopkinson said they were able to uplift her brother’s personal belongings that were at the Timehri base, however; they have not received his belongings from Eteringbang. “Our family wants those belongings. To keep them because they are of great sentimental value to us,” the woman said. She also told this newspaper that Hopkinson’s two-year-old daughter is still confused about what has happened to her father. The child would sometimes say that her father is dead but there have been instances where she would ask what happened to him, the woman said.
Meanwhile, the GDF has committed to supporting Hopinkson’s child and pregnant wife. Hopkinson would have ended his tour of duty in a few weeks and would have returned home. The knowledge of this fact drags all the bitterness and pain of her brother’s death to the surface, his sister said. “Life is sacred. It’s our hope in God that gears us up with the love and support of our church family…and this is not over,” she added.
