Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

More Caribbean countries are acknowledging the State of Palestine as Trinidad and Tobago on May 2nd, formally recognizing them as announced in Cabinet, according to the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs in a Press Release. 

Dr Amery Browne, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs is reportedly a key player who influenced Trindad and Tobago’s decision as it was made on his recommendation.

In the release, the Caribbean island expressed that it has for a long time, supported Palestine’s right for self determination.

The release also says this move is in line with Trindad’s respect for the law.

“This is our consistent foreign policy position, which is founded on Trinidad and Tobago’s respect for and adherence to international law and to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”

To emphasize their support for the nation, the release also said “ the recognition of Palestine is moral and just and demonstrates Trinidad and Tobago’s acknowledgement of and support for the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people.”

The country follows Jamaica and Barbados, which recently announced their recognition for Palestine.  

The full report can be found here: https://foreign.gov.tt/documents/1454/Recognition_by_Trinidad_and_Tobago_of_the_State_of_Palestine.pdf

Garfield Ekon

Staff Writer

The world is facing an annual financing gap of about $4 trillion to achieve sustainable development, leaving countries with hardly any resources to invest in better education, healthcare, renewable energy, or social protection.

United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Antonio Guterres who made the remarks at the 2024 Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Forum on Financing for Development, said there needs to be a “surge in investment” to give developing countries a chance to build better lives for their people.

“The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are hanging by a thread, and with them, the hopes and dreams of billions of people around the world,” the Secretary General said, adding that countries should push for the SDG Stimulus of $500 billion annually in affordable long-term finance for developing countries, which he proposed in February 2023.

“Now it’s time to move from words to action and deliver affordable, long-term financing at scale,” he said, while also calling for “greater representation” of developing countries in global financial systems.

“The countries who need these systems and institutions most were not present at their creation, a lack of representation that continues to this day,” he said, emphasising the urgent need for change.

He highlighted that the Summit of the Future Opens in a new window, which will be held on September 22, and 23, 2024, in New York, and the 2025 Financing for Development Conference in Spain as “key opportunities” to gather world leaders to reform the global financial architecture.

“Let us make the most of these opportunities. Now is the time for ambition. Now is the time for reform. Now is the time to shape a global economic and financial system that delivers for people and planet,” he said.

For his part, President of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis told the forum that a “relentless focus’ needs to be on the financing crisis, as the 2023, the global public debt reached a staggering $313 trillion and over the last decade, increasing far more rapidly in developing nations than in developed ones.

“Worse, developing countries are paying twice as much in interest on their total sovereign debt stocks than developed nations, hobbling them further as they try to ascend the development ladder,” he said.

Adding that nearly half of humanity, or 3.3 billion people, live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on education or health, he stressed that “no nation, I repeat, no nation, should be forced to gamble with their future, countries must be enabled to channel their resources towards uplifting their communities and building resilience rather than servicing excessive debt,” Mr. Francis stated.

Wilkie Arthur

Freelance Court Correspondent

In the early morning hours of Friday the August 3rd, 2018 Judah Gail was at the Five Dollar Bar situated at Lamont’s (Chicken) parking lot in Providenciales; also at the bar were several other patrons including a woman who was in company of some friends. During the course of the night and before the fatal shooting there was an altercation between a person known as “Madmax” and one “Sparky” on the corner of the food court at the establishment’s parking lot.

Gunshots were fired and the patrons hurriedly dispersed, whilst some ran into the bar and laid low.

The case for the Crown depended to a large extent on the evidence of JC who testified under the cloak of anonymity and the pseudonym Jessica Cooper.

JC testified that shortly after the gunshots and the verbal altercation between Madmax and Sparky, a red Mustang entered the parking lot to the Five Dollar Bar. It was then about 2:00am. She further testified that Madmax alighted from the red Mustang, raised his shirt revealing a gun. She said, then he approached Judah and asked him whether he thought his gun was a trophy and Judah laughed. 

At the time, Judah was sitting on a vehicle close by, she testified.

Madmax’s vehicle was a distance of approximately 2-3 feet in front of JC’s vehicle and she said that she was about 10-15 feet away from the shooting incident. 

Madmax told Judah, “I will kill yuh *ucking a$$ tonight” and shot him once in his chest.

He then fired two more shots into Judah’s chest, according to the eyewitnesses.

Madmax then got into the red Mustang and sped away from the scene. Judah collapsed onto a vehicle belonging to one Thea Musgrove and succumbed to his injuries at the scene.

Again, that was 2018.

Kendall “Madmax” Dean was convicted on March 2nd, 2020 of that crime and later sentenced to 30 years to life imprisonment for the Judah Gail murder. But Dean would appeal his conviction. 

On Wednesday May 5th, 2021 after having carefully considered the written submissions and having had the benefit of oral submissions the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction and directed that a verdict of an acquittal be entered. 

We relived that 2018 bold in public shooting death of Judah Gail, the anonymous witness testifying, along with the conviction, sentence and subsequent overturned by the court of appeal, to show and remind ourselves that this present case of Swann’s shooting death bears striking similarities. 

This court correspondent can now report, one of the jurors said in the first attempt to select a 12 member jury for this new trial, that she was a juror on his first murder trial. She was referring to the 2020 trial for the murder of Judah Gail that took place in August 2018. 

As a result of what was said by that potential female juror, in the presence of the rest of jury in the waiting pool, already having been selected for the trial, the selection process was aborted.  

The following week, another attempt at staffing an unbiased jury resumed.

Police confirmed and revealed that in this new shooting death of JOSHUA SWANN on the evening of Sunday August 8, 2021 – exactly three months and three days after Madmax had won his appeal and been released – that a bold gun crime in clear view of members of the public, with reportedly many witnesses was carried out by Kendall Dean; facing charges of murder. 

A number of the other witnesses who gave police statements refused to testify in the trial held in the Grand Turk Supreme Court as police believed and was investigating how one of the eye witnesses that were present at Swann’s murder scene and was sent off to the UK with his girlfriend and their young child, came back home. 

He “Karo Outten” having left the UK and moved to the USA for a while, decided to traveled from the US and returned home, was killed on Wednesday June 7th, 2023, at ZaZa location on Five Cays Road. 

He traveled home without the permission and knowledge of those closest to him, including his girlfriend or child; it blindsided witness protection as well.

The girlfriend was called in as a witness in the trial; she testified from the United Kingdom unabashedly stating that she was not returning to TCI after what happened to her partner mere days after landing in Providenciales. 

Dean was charged with the murder of Joshua Swann; described as ‘his own friend’,  over what police said was a ‘theft of funds dispute.’

Police explained that they believed Swann was shot for missing funds he did not steal, according to statements they had collected.

The 12 member jury heard the evidence and on Monday April 22 returned a conviction for Kendall Dean in the 2021 killing that claimed the life of the young man.

Kendall Dean is facing 30 years in prison on the murder conviction. 

Will the judge in this new murder matter, his Lordship The Hon Mr Justice Davidson Kevin Baptiste imposed the mandatory minimum of 30 years to life imprisonment on Kendall Dean? or will Mr. Oliver Smith KC, Dean’s attorney, persuade the judge to sentence his client to less than the 30 years to life imprisonment according to our TCI laws, if finds exceptional circumstances? 

A sentence of 30 years to life imprisonment simply means, Dean will have to serve no less than 30 years before he can apply to be considered for parole. If having exhausted all his appeal options and fails, he would be at age 56 before his first parole application can be submitted for consideration and no guarantee it will be granted. 

The “life sentence” means he can remain at His Majesty’s Prison until he dies.

Prosecuting the matter was SIPT Senior Public Prosecutor, Mr. Quinn Hawkins and was assisted by Ms. Katherine “Kate” Duncan also from the SIPT trial. They were granted special noticeable police protection at their hotel rooms and everywhere while conducting the prosecution of this trial in Grand Turk and heavily armed tactical unit officers were positioned at the court for the duration of the trial

Now, sentencing is fixed for June 10th, 2024.