AfriKa CRY BLOOD

BY GERCINE CARTER

Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite has been urged to ensure that claims of abuse of power by the Royal Barbados Police Force are thoroughly investigated.

The force came in for a barrage of criticism from a cross section of Barbadians during the question and answer session following the Sir Winston Scott Memorial Lecture delivered by Dr Irene Khan, former secretary general of Amnesty International at the Frank Collymore Hall last Monday night.

Khan spoke on Why Freedom Matters: Challenges And Opportunities For Human Rights In The 21st Century.

Several members of the audience related personal stories, alleging abuse of power by police.

“There is a problem with the police being overzealous; they abuse their authority; there is no functioning Police Complaints Authority. There is a problem here with the police complaints process,” one man complained to the Amnesty official. (more…)

THE JUSTICE COMMITTEE, a lobby group fighting the cause of the late I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney, plans to take its case to the United Nations.

This was revealed Saturday night on the anniversary of the death of the 23-year-old Rastafarian of Hutson’s Alley, Reed Street, St Michael. Maloney died on June 17, 2008, at Land Lock in St Lucy.

The circumstances of his death were investigated by Coroner Faith Marshall-Harris who returned a verdict of misadventure.

Attorney at law David Comissiong, in his presentation at the anniversary celebrations at the Israel Lovell Foundation, My Lord’s Hill, St Michael, lauded the Justice Committee for its stance. (more…)

“Please Purchase This DVD and Support Our Cause For Justice”

On June 17th 2008, IAkobi Maloney, a young man with a remarkable character lost his life after coming in contact with the Royal Barbados Police Force. The police alleged that IAkobi without provocation jumped off a cliff to his death at Land Lock, an area north of the small island. The family of IAkobi was given several versions of what actually took place on the cliff. You decide!!!

THE JUSTICE COMMITTEE has reiterated its call for an independent investigation into the death of 23-year-old chemical engineer Ras I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney on June 17, 2008.

Coroner Faith Marshall-Harris ruled that his death was due to misadventure, that there was no evidence to suggest Maloney had been unlawfully killed by police nor that he had committed suicide.

Maloney is alleged to have jumped off a 50-foot cliff at Landlock, St Lucy, as he was about to be escorted to Holetown Police Station by police.

Last Sunday night, the Justice Committee staged the launch of a DVD chronicling the events of the coroner’s inquest, and a reflection of the former Barbados Exhibitioner’s life as outlined by his mother, Maggie, and brother, Mandela. (more…)

by TREVOR YEARWOOD

ARMED WITH flowers, flags and placards, Rastafarians and other “roots” people took to the streets of Bridgetown yesterday, calling for “justice”.

The protest march from “Temple Yard”, through the Jubilee Gardens, along the Wickham-Lewis Boardwalk and up Broad Street to Queen’s Park was largely to draw attention to the mysterious death of 23-year-old chemical engineer I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney in June, 2008.

Participants used the march to call for the reopening of the case in which Coroner Faith Marshall-Harris said Maloney’s death was due to misadventure.

A spokesman for the 50-odd marchers, Brother Heru of the I’Akobi Youth Resource Centre, said reports that the authorities were reopening the case appeared to be just rumours.

However, it was still something relatives and friends of Maloney were keen on having done, he told the SUNDAY SUN.

The march was partly to mark Maloney’s March 17 birthday and honour people who have fought for justice and righteousness across the globe, including Marcus Garvey and Martin Luther King.

The marchers told the SUNDAY SUN they were not satisfied with the police’s and coroner’s investigation of Maloney’s death, which left too many questions unanswered.

The placards reflected this concern. Some read: “Where Is the Justice”, “Many Questions, No Answers”, “Police Investigated Themselves” and “Justice Must Prevail”.

Maloney, of Hutson’s Alley, Reed Street, St Michael, died on June 17, 2008 at Land Lock, St Lucy. Police say they had nothing to do with the death, but report that they had a discussion with Maloney before he went over the cliff to his death.

Coroner Marshall-Harris suggested that Maloney may have felt harassed by the barrage of questions from the police and that he “panicked and made a dash to freedom” when asked to escort them to the station.

Maloney’s mother, Marguerita, was among those taking part in yesterday’s march.

During a stop on the boardwalk, she said: “This is where I’Akobi would come ritualistically. He always loved the sea. He would just sit here and contemplate, after he had studied enough, after he had been on the computer enough.”

In an earlier interview, she said she was no closer to learning the truth about her son’s death, despite a coroner’s inquest that ended in an April 2009 verdict.

The march followed a session at Temple Yard at which friends and relatives of Maloney prayed and sang hymns and popular songs of the movement. (TY)

by PHILLIPPE AIMEY

I want to state categorically that the Police Force does not enforce the law by targeting any groups. We carry out our duties without fear or favour and with sensitivity. We are willing to engage with any group in the society. We are the Police Force of Barbados and all communities.

- Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin, SUNDAY SUN April 25.

RASTAFARI profiling is real!

So say members of the Rastafarian community.

But it goes beyond the police force, they said in an interview with the SUNDAY SUN last Friday. Such profiling, they say, extends to the main social institutions and it is a problem that will not go away easily, unless the movement is endorsed fully by the Government.

“This has not now started and it will not finish anytime soon. Outside of the police force, there is profiling within the education and health system and even our own families.

“This is and has been a reality for us,” said Sister Asheba Trotman, chairperson of ICAR and co-chair of the Caribbean Rastafari Organisation (CRO). (more…)

READERS OF THE NATION’S online edition have mostly empathised with the call by Ras KudosSage-I to stop the profiling of members of the Rastafarian religion.

Speaking at the African Liberation Day celebrations, KudosSage-I, a representative of the Ichirouganaim Council For The Advancement Of Rastafari (ICAR), spoke of the “scourge called religious intolerance, which the Rastafari community finds itself head to head with”.

He called “on our brothers and sisters in faith to help us to combat this scourge and this offspring called Rastafari profiling”.

On NATIONnews.com, some readers shared their own experiences of profiling.

(more…)

by YVETTE BEST

A CALL has gone out to all faiths to help stop Rastafari profiling.

Speaking at Monday’s celebration of African Liberation Day in Jubilee Gardens, Ras KudosSage I said it would call for people to speak in one voice.

“As we set about to eliminate the remaining vestiges of racism, let us be mindful of the fact that there is another scourge called religious intolerance, which the Rastafari community finds itself head to head with.

“And we are calling on our brothers and sisters in faith to help us to combat this scourge and this offspring called Rastafari profiling,” he urged.

The representative from the Ichirouganaim Council for the Advancement of Rastafari (ICAR) said his brothers and sisters were still being persecuted.

“Rastafari finds itself in a position where we are continually persecuted for the way we practice our worship and for the very things that define us as Rastafari,” he said.

Noting that the African black man was similarly persecuted and rose from that position, Ras KudosSage I said “it is my hope and dream that Rastafari will do the same”. (more…)

by Phillipe Aimey

APOLOGISE!

That’s what members of the Rastafarian community want the Royal Barbados Police Force to do before there is any meeting between the two bodies to discuss a long list of issues.

This was only one of the conditions outlined by the Justice Committee at a Press conference held at the I’Akobi Youth Resource Centre, Tweedside Road, St Michael, yesterday.

It was called to respond to Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin’s invitation to meet and discuss the issue of “Rasta profiling”. (more…)

The Coroner’s Inquest into the death of I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney begins today in the Coroner’s Court, Roebuck Street, St Michael.

Maloney died June 17 at Landlock, St Lucy, where, police have stated, the former engineer jumped to his death. The police have denied they had any physical contact with him.

Since then there has been much concern from the public and Maloney’s family surrounding the circumstances of the former Barbados Exhibition winner’s death, with his family citing what they said were numerous inconsistencies in the police account of what happened on the day of the incident. (more…)

by Enricco Bohne (www.barbadosadvocate.com)

This was the plea yesterday at the I’Akobi Youth Resource Centre in Tweedside Road as the Justice Committee formed to promote, protect and defend the late Ras Tacuma I’Akobi Maloney’s case, met with various media houses to publicise the status of Maloney’s case.

Tacuma, whose demise at Landlock, St. Lucy on June 17th was met with much controversy, was represented by Committee members KudosSage I (Secretary of the Justice Committee), Brother Heru (Director of I’Akobi Youth Resource Centre and member of the Justice Committee) as well as Ras Lumumba (Priest of Church of Haile Selassie I), and Tacuma’s brother Mandela Maloney.  Also present was the mother of I’Akobi and other Rastafari Elders. (more…)

by Philippe Aimey (www.nationnews.com)

MERE DAYS before the Coroner’s inquest into the death of former Barbados Exhibition winner I’Akobi Maloney , the Justice Committee has upped the ante in its fight to get an independent investigation.

Clearly stating it was not questioning the office of the Coroner, members of the committee said they specifically believed the information that would be analysed during the November 10 inquest should come from an independent body outside of the Royal Barbados Police Force.

Speaking during a Press conference at the I’Akobi Youth Resource Centre, Tweedside Road, St Michael, secretary of the Justice Committee, Ras KudosSage I, said 5200 signatures had been submitted to both the office of Prime Minister David Thompson and Attorney-General Freundel Stuart on Wednesday, citing the independent investigation as critical if justice was to be achieved. (more…)

by Peter Thorne (www.cbc.bb)

Secretary of the Justice Committee, Ras KudosSage I, called for an independent investigation to be conducted into the death of former Barbados Exhibition winner and Engineer, I’Akobi Maloney.

He lauded the late Rastafarian as a man of exemplary character and moral standing. He says the Committee will resist any attempt to vilify Maloney’s character and his adherence to standards of excellence.

He made the call at a news conference at the I’Akobi Youth Resource Centre at Carrington Village in St. Michael. (more…)

by People’s Empowerment Party

ACCORDING TO A REPORT in THE NATION newspaper last Wednesday, Attorney-General Freundel Stuart cavalierly dismissed the People’s Empowerment Party’s call for an effort to be made to stage a demonstrably “independent” investigation into the death of I’Akobi Maloney by quipping: “Mr Comissiong was not down there [at the St Lucy scene of the death] as far as I am aware, and none of the people who are shouting were down there.”

Mr Stuart then proceeded to state that he had received a written report from the police on Maloney’s death; that there was “no recording of anything out of the ordinary” in the report; and that the normal course of events would follow, with the usual Coroner’s Inquest being held.

The PEP is disheartened that our new attorney-general is seemingly unwilling to think “outside of the box”, and to reach for the substance of justice, rather than its mere form. (more…)

by PHILLIPPE AIMEY

The Justice Committee announced yesterday that it has accumulated more than 5,000 signatures in support of its call for an independent investigation into the death of former I’Akobi Maloney.

Assisting the lobby group was Independent parliamentarian Hamilton Lashley who gathered more than 500 signatures from residents in The Pine and Wildey areas which he represents in the House of Assembly.

Lashley handed over the signatures following his arrival at Parliament yesterday to loud cheers from over 30 of the lobby group’s members who adorned him with ‘red, gold and green’ scarf, similar to the one he wore during the budget debate in July.

“I want people to know that this is not just names on paper,” Lashley said, “it has value that lends support to one of the most serious matters in the history of Barbados. (more…)

Video courtesy Bongo Lights Video Productions.

by Mr. Cummings (Secretary - Hamilton Lashley M.P.)

At an emancipation ceremony held on August 8, 2008, I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney was awarded posthumously as a positive role model for the youth and for his outstanding work in the country and community. Margaret Maloney, mother of I’Akobi, received the award on his behalf from Mr. Hamilton Lashley M.P.

Among those awarded for their emancipatory contributions to the Pan-Afrikan movement included David Comissiong, Buddy Larrier, Olutoye Walrond, Trevor Prescod and Elombe Mottley. Throughout the proceedings, high accolades were sent to the Justice Committee for the work it was pursuing.

Mr. Lashley said that he would further support the efforts of the Committee by soliciting signatures from his constituency for the petition. The ceremony at the Meadow Road Pavilion in Wildey, St. Michael was well attended and proved to be an impactful close of the 2008 Season of Emancipation.

by Wayne Quintyne (Director/Head Instructor - Unified Martial Art Academy)

I cannot speak to the events immediately preceding the death of I’Akobi Maloney. Only those who were present at that time can say for certain what circumstances led to his unfortunate and disturbing demise. What I can say is that a life full of promise and potential has been lost to us - both as a community and as a people. Personally, I am still coming to grips with the news of I’Akobi’s passing and I am sure the same can be said for other students of the Unified Martial Art Academy to which I’Akobi just recently became a member. (more…)

by SS (Heat Newspaper - Issue #139)

Emancipation Day celebrations at Bailey’s Plantation took on even greater significance for many Barbadians, some still grieving the untimely death of a promising young Barbadian and member of the local Rastafarian community.

There was a strong presence from the Justice Committee formed in the wake of the recent passing of I’Akobi Tacuma Hembadoon Maloney, and many other Barbadians braved persistent showers to show solidarity with the principles of emancipation. (more…)

We demand a fair investigation and trial. We demand elimination of the scourge of Rastafari profiling, stereotyping and victimisation. We demand equal rights and justice.

“Dissatisfied and disgruntled; disappointed and distressed, this is how we feel about all recent police reports related to the I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney case.” Such was the general sentiment of community members who raised their deep concerns once again at a Town Hall meeting on Monday night, June 28, 2008, only a couple days after police returned Tacuma’s haversack and its contents to mother, Margaret Maloney.

The community has agreed to take their demonstration to the streets. There will be an unannounced march in protest of the current investigation being conducted (by the local police) on the unusual death of Ras Tacuma. The demonstrators will seek to raise public awareness and express collective dissent with the current standard of justice being served. We demand a fair investigation and trial. We demand elimination of the scourge of Rastafari profiling, stereotyping and victimisation. We demand equal rights and justice.

On Friday, August 1, 2008 the community will canvas the public with brochures, flags, badges and other memorabilia while collecting petition signatures from diverse supporters. The time has come for real change. Click here for more details on the emancipation activities.

by PEP (www.nationnews.com)

THE PEOPLE’S EMPOWERMENT PARTY (PEP) is calling upon Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin and Attorney-General Freundel Stuart to carry out an independent investigation into the “mysterious” death of 23-year-old I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney, by bringing in police investigators from a jurisdiction outside of Barbados to take charge of the probe.

I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney, a young man of impeccable reputation, died on June 17 at Landlocks, near Cove Bay, St Lucy, while in the presence and custody of several officers of the Royal Barbados Police Force. Spokespersons of the force have since alleged that police officers had interviewed Mr Maloney, before he suddenly and inexplicably ran and jumped off a cliff to his death.

Where a death has occurred in such circumstances, (more…)