Latest update May 20th, 2026 12:35 AM
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Slain Linden COI commissioner valued over US$3M
The estate of slain Trinidad and Tobago State Prosecutor and former Commissioner in the 2012 Linden protest Commission of Inquiry (COI), Dana Seetahal, is worth more than US$3M; TT $18,411,682.89, and this amount is expected to be divided among family, friends and staff of her El Dorado Law Chambers at St Vincent Street, Port of Spain.
The four members of the Linden Commission of Inquiry, (from left) Justice Claudette Singh, Justice Lensley Wolfe, Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal and Justice K.D. Knight.
This is according to the Trinidad Express Newspaper which reported that the Senior Attorney’s last will was drawn up in August of 2010. Seetahal was part of a four-member team commissioned locally to oversee the inquiry into the shooting death and injury of Lindeners, who in 2012, were protesting a hike in electricity tariffs.
Together, the commissioners were paid US$297,000 ($59.4M) for their services, with Seetahal, Justice Claudette Singh, and Justice K.D. Knight each reportedly receiving US$72,000 and Chairman of the commission and former Jamaican Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe US$81,000.
Lindeners received $33.8M (US$169,000) as their total compensation for damages and injuries caused by local police officers. They were found culpable for the death and injuries sustained by protestors. Although the community described the amount as “woefully inadequate,” the government expressed no intent to go against the award of the commissioners. Of the sum awarded, $8M went to relatives of the three slain Lindeners. Shemroy Bouyea’s family received $3M, the relatives of Allan Lewis got $3M, while the relatives of Ron Somerset were awarded $2M.
The remaining sum was set for Lindeners who were injured by live rounds, rubber pellets and other armory used against the protestors. Some were also said to have been compensated for destroyed property.
The Linden community was protesting a rise in electricity tariffs since the government said they were paying less for electricity that the rest of the country. However the residents contended that they are already being stifled economically by the current Administration, with the opportunity of interior mining being the main income earner in the Region.
Seetahal was assassinated on May 4 while driving her Volkswagen SUV along Hamilton Holder Street in Woodbrook, Trinidad. She had just left a popular casino when gunmen surrounded her vehicle and opened fire shooting the attorney five times. No one has been arrested for the crime, the nation’s media has reported, and law enforcers there refuse to speculate on the reason for the hit.
She was one of the prosecutors assigned to the Vindra Naipaul-Coolman murder trial, which is still ongoing in Trinidad. (Zena Henry)
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