THE West Kingston Commission of Enquiry resumes its sittings at the Mutual Life Centre in Kingston at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, following a three-week break for the Christmas holidays. The Enquiry is being held into the upsurge of violence in western Kingston and other parts of the Corporate Area between July 7-10 2001, which left more than 24 persons dead, including a member each of both the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF).
So far some 94 witnesses have appeared before the three-member Commission chaired by Justice Julius Isaac, and include criminologist, Dr. Hyacinthe Ellis, and theologian, Rev. Dr. Garnet Brown.
Members of the security forces comprising the JCF and JDF, accounted for more than half of all the witnesses who took the stand, this with a total of 67 appearing. Of this number 48 were from the JCF and 19, the JDF.
Of the 27 civilian witnesses who appeared, three testified en camera while 10, inclusive of five officials of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) headed by Oppo-sition Leader, Edward Seaga, and five residents of western Kingston declined to give evidence.
In excess of 75 exhibits have been tendered into evidence to date. These include statements from witnesses, photographs and maps of the areas under review, video and audio cassettes, copies of police force orders and organisational charts, certified forensic results of police swabs of suspects and a damaged tyre from a JDF V150 Armoured Personnel Carrier which was reportedly fired on by gunmen while it was being used in west Kingston between July 7 and 10.
