Brother: I’Akobi thinking of moving on
I’AKOBI MALONEY was actively searching for another job.
His younger brother, Mandela Maloney, disclosed this at the Coroner’s Inquest into his death on Monday.
He told the court that his brother, who obtained an engineering degree at the St Augustine Campus in Trinidad was “dissatisfied with the conditions at the Arawak Cement Plant” and felt that the conditions there were not challenging enough.
Mandela pointed out that his brother started developing asthma and sinusitis and he believed it was because of the dust at the St Lucy plant.
“He made a decision about leaving the job a couple of weeks before he took sick leave. He was saying that the conditions were not beneficial to him and he felt as if he was confined - he felt that he had more potential,” Mandela stated.
He explained that I’Akobi visited his constituency representative Patrick Todd and that he also went to “services commission” to update his curriculum vitae.
Asked by coroner Faith Marshall-Harris to describe I’Akobi’s personality, Mandela said his brother was very enthusiastic about life.
“He had dreams and aspirations about raising a family. He was very respectful of other people’s interests. He was very creative and reflective. He was not aggressive and not depressed,” the young man noted.
He said he had met I’Akobi’s girlfriend when his family travelled to Trinidad to assist him in finding off-campus accommodation.
However, he said when his brother returned to Barbados he wanted some time off for himself and wanted to reassess his situation.
Mandela told the coroner that some of the police officers had given conflicting evidence in relation to his brother’s death.
He pointed out that Sergeant Wingrove Headley had a private conversation with his mother in his presence, during which Headley stated that he led a squad to Land Lock, St Lucy, on June 17. He said that Headley also told them that the incident happened so fast and that he could not sleep at night.
Tags: Arawak Cement Plant, asthma, Faith Marshall-Harris, job, Mandela Maloney, Patrick Todd, sinus problems, St. Augustine Campus, Wingrove Headley