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Nandlall calls for COI in Crum-Ewing’s assassination
On March 10, 2015, weeks before early elections brought on by a prorogued Parliament, an activist, Courtney Crum-ewing, age 40, was shot dead in a dark street in Diamond, East Bank Demerara.
Shot dead: Activist, Courtney Crum-Ewing
The country was outraged and there were calls for justice for Crum-Ewing. Some protested daily outside the offices of Minister of Legal Affairs, Attorney General Anil Nandlall.
Fingers were pointed and Rajput Narine, a former driver/bodyguard of Nandlall’s, was held and questioned by the police.
Regan Rodrigues called ‘Grey Boy’, who was known to police was arrested and in late 2017 was committed to face trial in the High Court.
On Wednesday, during “The Political Show” on Kaieteur Radio hosted by Kaieteur News’ Senior Journalist, Leonard Gildarie and Editor-in-Chief, Adam Harris, Nandlall was asked pointedly if he had anything to do with the activist’s death.
Denying any knowledge, the former AG made it clear that he is willing for a Commission of Inquiry (CoI).
He said that Crum-Ewing months before his death, protested in front of the Attorney General’s office on Carmichael Street, “unaffected, unhindered, un-interfered” with for months.
“Everyday I see him…four-five times per day I drive past there. I never uttered a word to Mr. Crum-Ewing. He never said anything to me. He was there with his placard. I would look at him. I would drive out, drive past.”
According to Nandlall, Crum-Ewing stopped protesting and months after, he was shot dead “somewhere in Diamond”.
“If I had to do anything with Crum-Ewing, would it not had been done at the time while he was doing what he was doing? For all intents and purposes, he had stopped several months before. I was the sitting Attorney General and I know that the police found his phone- Crum-Ewing’s phone- and they found the last number that dialed Crum-Ewing.”
Nandlall said that the activist’s mother was even on record saying that he received a call and she asked him where he was going and he said he was going to Diamond.
Former AG, Anil Nandlall has insisted on a CoI into Courtney Crum-Ewing’s death.
Courtney Crum-Ewing while protesting in front of the AG office.
“Presumably, that last call was the one that called him to Diamond. The police have that number. They triangulated it using the towers and they know exactly the location or the general direction where the call came from. They followed that number to somebody to Lethem. Why they don’t make all the information public?”
Nandlall, who lost out to Irfaan Ali as the Presidential Candidate during internal voting of the People’s Progressive Party early this year, made it clear that he has called repeatedly on the Government for a Commission of Inquiry to be held. He has even posted such on his Facebook page.
“They cannot hold one (CoI) for Crum-Ewing because they know who are implicated in Crum-Ewing’s murder.”
Speaking about the arrest of his former bodyguard/driver, Nandlall said that Rajput Narine was seconded to his office only one week before police picked him up.
“I hired a bodyguard because of the same situation… of heightened security. I don’t even know the guy. He was recommended to me by Dr. Leslie Ramsammy (former Agriculture Minister). The guy worked with me for a week and then the police held him. He was in the Customs’ enforcement unit. I have a letter transferring him signed by Commissioner General (of the Guyana Revenue Authority) Khurshid Sattaur. There is nothing connecting me to that but that is the politics in this country.”
He reiterated his calls for an investigation.
“You will see if they have evidence implicating me in anything. Would they sit idly? Are you crazy? They charged me for my own law books which were part and parcel of my service. Every human being who knows me know that I can afford to buy those law books. If they have the evidence, would they sit idly by?”
On the evening of March 10, 2015, Crum-Ewing was shot dead at Third Avenue, Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD) while urging residents to vote against the PPP in the upcoming General and Regional elections scheduled for May 11.
He was said to have been shot five times.
Police in a statement said that Crum-Ewing was walking along the roadway at Third Avenue when a car with four men drove up from which shots were discharged at him, “after which the men escaped”.
Lying next to the activist’s body was his famous bullhorn.
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