Court begins hearing Donald Rodney’s appeal against 1982 conviction

Dr Walter Rodney’s assassination

…no evidence of explosives possession — DPP

The Guyana Court of Appeal on Thursday commenced hearing arguments in an appeal filed by Donald Rodney against his 1982 conviction and 18-month prison sentence for the possession of explosives without lawful authority.

Rodney is the brother of late politician and historian, Dr Walter Rodney, who was assassinated on June 13, 1980, when a walkie-talkie given to him exploded in his car at Georgetown. Rodney was charged for possession of explosives.
Donald Rodney, through his lawyer, Sanjeev Datadin, is seeking to have his conviction and sentence overturned, arguing that the decision of the trial Magistrate was unreasonable and could not be supported since there was no evidence. He has proffered several grounds in this regard.
During his submissions, Datadin argued, “The trial that was conducted has no evidence, absolutely no evidence that can found a charge much less a conviction of Mr [Donald] Rodney. There was no evidence upon which the court could find that there were knowledge and control [of explosives].”
“There was no evidence which was sought to say what was in possession was in fact a substance for which there would have been a level of control. There was no evidence led by the State that demonstrates that there was no lawful authority,” the lawyer advanced.

According to him, the prosecution did not meet the element of proving that his client was not in lawful possession. Against this backdrop, Datadin submitted that the prosecution established no case against his client, and as such, the matter should have been dismissed when the prosecution closed its case.

Conviction deprived
Moreover, the Attorney said that the conviction has deprived his client of essentially most of his life.
“A criminal conviction to an honest man is worse than a death sentence. He can’t travel, he cannot do the things he likes, because every form asks whether you have had a conviction,” Datadin noted, adding that his client is a graduate of the Hugh Wooding Law School and has been unable to practise in Guyana because of the criminal conviction to his name.
Datadin told the court that at the time his client was charged, it was a notorious fact and public knowledge that Dr Walter Rodney and the circumstances that surrounded his death were marred in political controversy. “Some views are that it was a political assassination; some views were that it was at the other end. We don’t ask the court to take a position on that. But we ask the court to note the environment and circumstances that existed in the trial of Donald Rodney…”

Suppression of evidence
Rodney further argues that the Magistrate failed to admit his defence, namely, the public eyewitness’s account by him, which precluded a charge of possession and was read into evidence in the court’s record by the Police witness under oath, and the true unsworn statement he made in his defence in open court. Rodney argues, too, that the Magistrate failed to allow him time and facilities to prepare his defence which is a breach of Article 144 (2) (C) of the Constitution.
He also alleges suppression of evidence, in that, the records of appeal were adjusted against him. The convict argued that all he would have said in his defence before he was convicted was not included in the records of appeal and extraneous and inadmissible statements had also been placed in the records of appeal.
Among the other grounds raised by Rodney’s lawyer was that his client’s right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time as guaranteed under Article 144 of the Constitution was infringed on, given the almost 40-year delay in the hearing of his appeal, which was filed shortly after his conviction.
The appeal is being heard by the Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and two other JUDGES. Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack is appearing on behalf of the State. The matter continues on April 13, 2021. In the meantime, Rodney has been released on bail pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.
Meanwhile, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, in her submissions, agreed with the defence that there was no evidence provided to demonstrate that an analysis of the components of the device were part of an explosive.
“The State’s position is that there is no evidence in the record of an expert witness,” the DPP informed the court.
She noted that no evidence has been led to suggest there was an analysis of anything that was found at the scene of the explosion.

CoI
According to reports, Rodney was the only eyewitness to the June 13, 1980 assassination of his brother who was the co-leader of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA). A Commission of Inquiry (CoI) held in 2015 under the previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration found that Dr Walter Rodney’s death was a State killing and that the then Prime Minister Forbes Burnham had to have known about the plot. (G1)