Rodney knew he had explosives – Witness tells COI

Feb 18, 2015 News

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– says WPA smuggled suspect out of country
Before an extremely silent gathering, longstanding friend of Dr. Walter Rodney yesterday made a number of stunning statements, including that the truth about the politician’s death had been corrupted by the very party he co-founded, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA).
Sixty-nine-year-old Holland Gordon Yearwood, told commissioners that despite many

accusations those days, Gregory Smith was not responsible for death of Dr. Rodney. In fact, Yearwood said it was the said party that smuggled Smith to Cayenne, French Guiana.
As Yearwood offered his evidence in chief, the inquiry heard that prior to his death, Rodney had shown the witness at least three detonators, asking for his technical assistance. He said too that Smith had been assisting Rodney in “putting together the device” that killed him.
Yearwood, also called ‘Jomo’ and ‘The Nigerian,’ recently returned from his Cite Bon Homme, French Guiana residence to offer his version of events to the Commission. He testified that he had known Rodney when they were both young since they had attended the same church and participated in athletics at the Gymnasium.

URGENT OPERATIONS
Describing himself as an independent political activist, Yearwood said during the period under review (1978 – 1980) he had resided at Lot 6 Second Alley, Wismar, Linden.
He said at the time he was self-employed but contracted with Guyana National Engineering Corporation (GNEC), a state-owned company. As a part-time job, Yearwood said he was a track and field coach.
He recalled July 5, 1979 when he left Mackenzie, Linden with a team of athletes set to participate in their first National Athletics Championship. Yearwood recalled that as they were returning to Linden he spotted his brother standing on the road at Grove, East Bank Demerara.
According to Yearwood, he disembarked, but shortly after speaking to his brother he heard the tooting of a horn. When he looked he saw Dr. Rodney seated in a car across the road, beckoning him to come over.
He told Commissioners that it was then that he approached the politician who asked if he was available for the evening, because there was an “urgent operation” and his presence would be highly appreciated.
The Commission of Inquiry heard that Yearwood sent the waiting bus away, hopped in Rodney’s car, and together they travelled to a house on Hadfield Street, Georgetown. He said as they drove, he asked Rodney “What’s so urgent?” to which the politician responded “Brother Jomo, there are times you have to hit the enemy in their beds and their reactions will be judged.”
Eventually they made their way to a house on Hadfield Street where Dr. Rodney introduced him to a male, whose name he (Yearwood) could not recall. He said after awhile, the politician sat down and unfolded a plan for the evening; detailing what he wanted to do, where and how.
The witness, a qualified Technician, said that Rodney wanted the two to tamper with the equipment and plunge sections of Georgetown in blackout. He said he hadn’t joined on that mission, but instead returned to the Mining town.

DEATH OF FATHER DARKE
The witness recalled July 14, 1979, when he had travelled to participate in a demonstration for the release of Walter Rodney, who was the day before taken into custody for the burning of Congress Place.
He said Rodney was passed through the “Little Court” and released on $5000 bail by a Magistrate.
Yearwood recalled going on Croal Street in search of a place to “relieve himself” where he encountered the then Minister of Works and Communication and now city Mayor, Hamilton Green.
He said face-to-face Green told him “I am going to put a stopping to you! Today today I will put a stop to you and your stupidness!” The witness confessed that he hadn’t bothered with Green and eventually he made his way back to the court and joined the demonstrators.
“It was only when the men of Hamilton Green came and shout ‘He is Jomo! He is Jomo! Get him, get him! That I realised I was about to be killed.”
He said that he was seriously wounded by a bayonet-wielding man who had received his orders to kill him. He said this was confirmed by Michael Dawn, who when he was stabbed, kept shouting “He is Jomo get him!”
He said he tried to avoid it, but was struck to his left arm, and had to run to save his life that day. He displayed the wound yesterday. Yearwood claimed that the man who injured him with the bayonet, Bilal Ato, was taken before the courts, charged and sentenced to serve time for the murder of Father Bernard Darke.
“He was not the person that struck the bayonet into Father Darke. He did not kill him…He was used as the sacrificial goat,” Yearwood said. Ato, he said, was part of the House of Israel. He was not charged with wounding him, another man was.
He said the incident occurred about 40 minutes after his encounter with Green.

DETONATORS
Yearwood testified that Dr. Rodney had come to his home around 14:30 hours one afternoon, three weeks prior to Rodney’s June 13, 1980 death. The witness recalled that he sat facing Rodney at a table and after a short while, the politician took out “some things” from his bag asking him if he could fit them into circuit.
Lead by assistant Lead Counsel to the Commission, Latchmie Rahamat, the witness said Rodney took them and placed them in his hands. When he asked the late Dr. Rodney what they were, the politician responded “firing-caps detonators.”
As the conversation continued, it was about 15 minutes after that Rodney left.
The witness testified that on Friday, June 13, 1980, he was then living with his brother at Grove, East Bank Demerara. He explained that the incident with Rodney and the “instrument” brought to his home, had caused his fearful wife to sever ties with him.
He said he left these shores on February 24, 1981 and ventured to French Guiana for a job opportunity presented to him by one, Mr. Josiah.
Yearwood recapped that the decision for him to leave came three days before when he headed down to a lake in Grove where he was confronted by a gun-toting man. The person, he recalled, said “Jomo medi!” which he explained to have meant “be on guard.”
“I didn’t answer him, I had no time. He pointed the gun at my chest and I knew what was the situation. I was a man to be killed!” he said.
Three months after settling in Cayenne, Yearwood said he had received word that Rodney’s killer was in Cayenne. He said he did his own investigation and told the WPA that Smith was in the same country as he was. He said Smith was known to him as Cyril Milton Johnson and call-name “Jono.”
He said that after he had acquired certain information and was certain that it was Rodney’s alleged killer, a meeting was arranged for November 27, 1981, at a hotel in Central Ville, Suriname.
He said there he met David Michael, Kwame Apata and Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine and told them of his findings. He said together they devised an operation to bring Smith before an International Tribunal. He said, as per arrangement, he returned to the crossing at Saint Laurent to pick up two “operators” from the WPA which never materialized.
He said the plan was to extract Smith and place him before the tribunal. “That was being dealt with by Roopnaraine and Kwayana.”
Yearwood stated that on March 29, 1982, he returned to Suriname and had a meeting with Michael and Apata where he was told “Jomo, that man you had identified in Cayenne is not Gregory Smith. Gregory Smith was positively seen and identified in another South American country. Leave the matter as it is.”
Michael claimed that Central (WPA HQ) had passed that information. The witness said that at that point, he was sure that Gregory Smith had nothing to do with Rodney’s death.
Yearwood went on to say that he eventually made acquaintance with Smith and in 1986, he went to his house and they had a lengthy conversation where Smith detailed his life and meetings with Dr. Rodney, and how he left Guyana.
Yearwood told Commissioners that the morning after the bomb blast, Smith was smuggled aboard a cargo ship that took him to Trinidad. He said that the Guyana Defence Force Sergeant was marooned in Trinidad and had no communication with WPA Georgetown Central, who had sent him there, for two weeks.
The Commission heard that it was the same ship that had brought Dr. Rodney to Guyana.
Yearwood recalled Smith telling him that the Headquarters of the WPA finally made contact with him and by the third week, arrangements were made for him to be shipped to Kwakwani, Berbice.
According to the witness, Smith was then taken to Suriname where he was presented with a passport along with a visa which he then used to fly via Air Martinique to Cayenne, French Guiana.
Rodney’s comrade said in no uncertain terms that it was the WPA that facilitated moving Smith.
The same day Smith arrived in Cayenne he was reportedly taken directly from the Airport to Port Laravot and was placed on the fishing vessel.
The witnesses told commissioners that he was a bit taken aback by the tale Smith was telling him, but had asked only one question. He said when Smith spoke of the detonators; he stopped him and asked “Can you give me a description of the detonators?”
The Commission heard that Smith drew what it looked like and passed it to him. “My exact response to that was that ‘Gregory that was responsible for breaking up my home.’”

Corruption of Truth
He said that he recalled Smith telling him that should he attempt to pass certain information onto WPA, he was sure they would have told him to leave the matter as it is.
“After I had gone through that, I knew that there was a corruption of the reality of how Walter Rodney died…there was a corruption of the truth about how he died and what was responsible for his death,” Yearwood told the Commission.
At this point, the lead Commissioner asked the witness who corrupted the truth. Yearwood pointed his fingers to the executive members of the WPA, the party Dr. Rodney had co-founded.
Yearwood said when he contacted the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)’s Caribbean Report and told them of Gregory Smith and his willingness to speak to the International Commission, it was two days later he saw Roopnaraine announcing that the WPA knew nothing of him.
A murder charge, he said, was later drawn up against Smith which would have eventually prevented him re-entering Guyana.
The tribunal was supposed to be conducted in 1994.
The witness testified too that Gregory Smith’s sister who wrote a book with his testimony had wanted him to corroborate her statements.
“I know that Gregory Smith had assisted Dr. Rodney in putting together the device. She wanted me to deny that situation, but I couldn’t have,” he said.
He told the Commission that Smith died in 1999 at his home in Cayenne.
A full inquiry into Rodney’s death is exploring the probability that he may have been assassinated by his own party, the target of a State killing or a victim of his own negligence, among other things.
The brother of the late politician, Donald Rodney, is slated to testify today. A date has not yet been set for Yearwood to continue offering his evidence in chief.

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