There can be no other valid objective of the Rodney Inquiry than to seek the truth, namely, the circumstances surrounding his death in 1980. It is the truth that the nation has been awaiting and demanding for over thirty years. It is the truth that shall bring closure to the tragedy of Dr Rodney’s violent death and particularly to his long suffering family who have been vainly waiting for this event for over three decades.
The PNC’s objection, not unexpected, later subscribed to by the WPA, was that Mr Seenauth Jairam, a Senior Counsel of Guyanese birth, who had recently appeared for the government in the constitutional case challenging the budget cuts was, as a result thereof, not politically neutral.
Not only did former Chancellor Keith Massiah serve on the Gajraj Inquiry without objection, as was pointed out, but his brother, the late Claude Massiah, was appointed a judge after he had been a candidate for the PNC in previous general elections. Justice Bovell-Drakes was the Chairman of the Young Socialist Movement, the youth arm of the PNC, before being appointed to serve as a judge after a campaign by the PNCR, lawyers and a court case filed by him. He continues to serve without any complaint. It is a well-known and acceptable practice for
