Justice…

…at Geological Speed

The 2020 elections are now so far in our rear-view mirror that kids born during the tabulation saga are probably asking, “Who is Clairmont Mingo, Ma?!” Your Eyewitness knows that the wheels of justice turn slowly, but the court case involving GECOM CEO Keith Lowenfield and the “Bedsheet Nine” is advancing with all the urgency of a coconut drifting upstream!! The trial has experienced all kinds of interruptions since it began in 2023, starting with changes in the presiding magistrate who handed it off like a hot potato!! Which it very well may be, seeing as to how it might be the stake to finally kill the PNC!!
The case has become less a criminal trial and more a national heritage project!! By the time it concludes, the court record may very well qualify for UNESCO World Heritage status. Every couple of weeks we receive another update – not a verdict, not a conclusion, but just another adjournment, another procedural issue, another witness unavailable, another legal argument and another date on the calendar! If adjournments earned airline miles, this case could have flown on Musk’s mission to Mars and back!!
The irony is delicious, innit?? The events at the centre of the case revolved around counting votes quickly enough to determine who governed the country. Six years later, the courts are still counting… days!! Historians are beginning to view the proceedings as a geological phenomenon, with archaeologists expected to discover future court transcripts buried neatly between layers of sediment!! At this rate, artificial intelligence won’t merely summarise the evidence – it may eventually be asked to reconstruct missing witnesses from historical records!!
Now don’t get your Eyewitness wrong. None of this is to suggest justice should be rushed. Quite the opposite. Due process is the cornerstone of any democracy – but due process was never intended to be confused with continental drift!! The public deserves closure – whatever the outcome. If the accused are guilty, let that be proven beyond reasonable doubt. If they’re innocent, let them be acquitted, but enough with this dithering!!
Meanwhile, Guyana continues its transformation around the courtroom. Oil production is approaching one million bpd…new highways are appearing… housing schemes with over 50,000 lots have sprung up!! CJIA has been joined by Ogle Airport to handle international traffic, and new hotels have sprung up like jumbie umbrellas!!
The elections fraud trial, however, remains faithfully committed to preserving the PNC traditions of yesterday!! Perhaps the final judgement will coincide with the next national census. Or the next constitutional reform. Or the first Guyanese mission to Mars!! Until then, our nation’s most famous courtroom drama continues to prove one remarkable proposition: elections may last a day, and recounts may last months, but litigation can apparently aspire to immortality!!
Is a calendar manufacturer sponsoring the proceedings??

…and warfare
Back in Roman times it was said, “Si vis pacem, para bellum,” meaning “If you want peace, prepare for war.” Over in China, Sun Tzu in his “Art of War” pretty much echoed that: “In war, prepare for peace; in peace, prepare for war.” So with Mad Maduro safely (?) ensconced in some holding cell in Miami, we’re at “peace” – thanks to the Yanks. It’s rather refreshing to see our Government preparing for war – to ensure peace continues!!
Almost immediately in 2021 a Bell 412Epi helicopter was delivered – followed by Bell 407 and Bell 429 helicopters last year – giving us aerial mobility in our border regions!! Offshore, the Coast Guard expanded its fleet with that new Metal Shark patrol craft – with another €39.5M one being built in France”!! Not to mention drone systems that’ve now changed modern warfare!!
But your Eyewitness wants to know what happened to the five drones Ramjattan bought from that start-up company for US$80,000 each??

…from genocide
The Gaza killing fields keep producing more dead Palestinian bodies – now 73,770, mostly women and children. Added to that have been 4319 in Lebanon. How many more, Jah, before Israel will be reined in??