Every modern society is made up of numerous functioning parts, functioning at its best, making for a wonderful environment to dwell in. St. Lucia as a small developing country is no exception. The opposite is also true. An environment with moving parts that are not in sync can seem like hell on earth especially in small countries.
Our small country can ill afford to make mistakes or mal handle such functioning parts such as the education system, the health system, infrastructure, and for the purposes of this piece, the security of the nation.
Days ago, our front page featured a story that should make every patriotic, concerned citizen sick to their stomach – the case of critical evidence missing in two high profile deaths, that of Kimberly De Leon and Shakadan Daniel. De Leon was shot in her home at Morne Fortune in 2018. Daniel was found hanging in his cell in the Micoud police station in 2013. This is absolutely horrible but what makes it exponentially worse is the confirmation by the Police Commissioner that the said evidence was held in the armory of the Special Services Unit -SSU.
For what it’s worth, the National Security Minister and Prime Minister Philip Pierre as well as Police Commissioner Verne Garde were both swift with their condemnation of this latest development with promises to leave no stone unturned in dealing with this matter. It is nonetheless the unfortunate reality that no amount of talk will remedy or adequately put this situation to rest. Swift, decisive action is what is required in this instance, whether it means placing those with access to the evidence on mandatory leave pending the investigation or charging the individual/s directly responsible for securing the evidence area. Whatever the decision, it cannot be long and drawn out in coming.
Having said all of this, there is still more to consider.
Imagine for a moment that this evidence has disappeared, disappeared from a secure police evidence room, and it must be investigated but it will be investigated by the police.
The Fox and the Hen House? The Rat and the Cheese? Or maybe the question asked in a popular calypso many years ago would be more apt, “who will guard the guards?”
The best among us may be tempted to suggest that there is a possibility that the evidence was probably just misplaced. That, however, is easily thrown out of the window by the fact that the Police Commissioner confirmed that the noose in the Shakadan Daniel hanging was removed from a sealed evidence container.
There is no desire to preach doom and gloom even in light of all that has happened over the last few months in this our precious small island but, one must admit that when the ones charged with upholding the law and keeping us safe are seemingly, reportedly, allegedly, engaged in criminality, doom and gloom seems just around the corner.
By the way, if this can happen in two high profile cases, what about the little cases. One cannot help but wonder how many times this has happened previously. We ask again, who will guard the guards?