Clarendon five, Donna-Lee, Royal visit: Observer Online’s top local stories of 2022
Jamaica celebrated its 60th anniversary of independence from Britain in 2022, during a year that started with COVID-19 restrictions, including curfews, still in place.
It would not be until March before the final COVID-19 restrictions under the Disaster Risk Management Act were lifted, allowing Jamaicans to return to some semblance of normalcy after two years of lockdowns, quarantines, lost incomes and, sadly, several thousand deaths as a result of the coronavirus.
While Jamaica’s Diamond Jubilee was the biggest event of the year, and culminated in what many described as the best Grand Gala ever inside the National Stadium, it was not the most talked about story in the country.
The year 2022 stood out for many Jamaicans for the wrong reason as, despite many positives, the stories that garnered the most attention throughout an eventful year were related to the murders of a Clarendon mother and her five children by their cousin and the alleged killing of social media influencer, Donna-Lee Donaldson by her boyfriend, police constable Noel Maitland.
The collective outrage from the Jamaican society around the two events was quite noticeable as it has long been assumed that with an average annual murder rate above 1,200, Jamaicans had become numb to murder. On these two occasions, they spoke out.
Murders and on again, off again states of emergency (SOEs) aside, Jamaicans in 2022 were forced to cope with a two-day strike by the state-owned National Water Commission.
Also, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher suffered a dead babies scandal, the Reggae Girlz qualified for a second FIFA World Cup and both junior and senior athletes excelled at their respective World Championships during the summer.
See below OBSERVER ONLINE’S top local stories for 2022:
Quintuple murder of Clarendon mother and her four children
Jamaicans exhaled in a collective gasp of horror when they woke up to the news on June 21 that a mother and her four children had been brutally murdered inside their home in New Road, Cocoa Piece district in the central Jamaica parish of Clarendon.
Those whose lives were savagely cut short were Kemesha Wright, 31, and her children: Kimanda Smith, 15; Sharalee Smith, 12; Rafaella Smith, five: and 23-month-old Kishawn Henry Jr.
Autopsies conducted on the bodies showed that they received at least 95 stab and slash wounds combined. It later emerged that they were murdered by their own cousin, 23-year-old Rushane Barnett who quickly confessed to the killings after he was apprehended.
The killings were condemned by Jamaicans at home and in the Diaspora with some calling for jungle justice to be inflicted upon Barnett who told police that he killed the five because Wright, who had allowed him stay at the home, had disrespected him. Member of Parliament for Clarendon North Central where Cocoa Piece is located, Robert Morgan, called the killings “a wicked act”.
The outrage and the grief were palpable throughout Jamaica for weeks after the killings, and talk about what should be done to Barnett was the topic of discussion in every crevice and corner of the country.
Based on the egregious nature of his crimes, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had signalled that it would be seeking the death penalty against Barnett. However, that was withdrawn following his guilty plea. On October 20 he was sentenced to five concurrent life sentences in the Home Circuit Court by Justice Leighton Pusey. He will become eligible for parole after serving 60 years and nine months.
The shocking nature of the killings saw the story making international headlines in online media publications such as the UK’s The Independent newspaper, Yahoo News, Trinidad Guardian, Nation News Barbados, and the Associated Press (AP).
Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Opposition leader Mark Golding were among the thousands of mourners at the July 31 funeral service for the slain five.
The emotional five-hour long service took place at the Stuart Hall auditorium at Clarendon College in Chapelton.
Donna-Lee goes missing; cop boyfriend charged with murder
Another gruesome murder story that had Jamaicans voicing their disapproval at the country’s high murder rate involved social media influencer Donna-Lee Donaldson who was reported missing in July.
While her body has still not been found, her police constable boyfriend Noel Maitland has been charged with her murder.
For weeks leading up to charges being laid against Maitland, scores of protestors took to the streets of the Corporate Area insisting that he be charged. Donaldson was reportedly last seen at Maitland’s Chelsea Manor apartment in New Kingston on July 12.
Apart from the murder charge, Maitland, a record producer, was also charged with preventing the lawful burial of a corpse.
Donaldson was reported missing on July 13 by her mother Sophia Lugg, and cops theorise that she was killed on July 12 between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm. Relying heavily on circumstantial evidence, detectives charged Maitland with murder in August.
During a failed bail hearing in the Supreme Court that month, the prosecution said Maitland had indicated in a statement that he and Donaldson argued over a photograph of his child’s mother, which he had in his apartment. While there were no eye witnesses to a murder and a body has not been found, the prosecution said the absence of a body does not prevent them from asserting that Donaldson is dead.
“We’re being mindful that we have not passed that threshold of a year and a day,” the prosecutor said.
The prosecution is also relying on video evidence to make its case against Maitland who remains behind bars.
Mighty Diamonds lead singer Tabby Diamond killed in drive-by
Still on the murder scene, Jamaicans expressed shock at the news that Tabby Diamond, the lead singer of reggae group, the Mighty Diamonds, was among two people shot and killed in a drive-by on McKinley Crescent near the hotspots of Waterhouse and Olympic Way in the tough St Andrew South police division on the night of March 29.
Three others were shot and injured during the attack. Which also claimed the life of Owen Beckford.
Tabby, whose real name was Donald Orlando Shaw was 67-years-old at the time of his death. He was a founding member of the group that formed in 1969 and despite fame had reportedly not left the McKinley Crescent area.
Another founding member of the group, Fitzroy ‘Bunny’ Simpson, who had been sidelined for some time due to ill health, died shortly after Tabby was killed. The remaining founding member is Lloyd ‘Judge’ Ferguson who told the media at the time of the killing that the group was getting ready to release its 47th album and was also preparing to tour the Caribbean, Europe and Africa.
The Mighty Diamonds are known for hits such as “Have Mercy”, “Pass the Kutchie” (which became an international hit twice), and “I Need a Roof”.
15-years to life; new Firearms Act seek to rein in gun crimes
With the gun featuring in up to 80 per cent of the more than 1200 murders committed in Jamaica each year, the Andrew Holness-led Government repealed and replaced the 1967 firearms legislation with a new Firearms Act that will see those in breach being sent away for a mandatory minimum of 15 years, all the way up to life behind bars for those who breach the law.
Offences such as possessing, stockpiling, manufacturing and trading in firearms now come with stiff penalties, so too the use of the gun in the commission of a crime.
The new law was passed in October and took effect after a two-week gun amnesty that ran from November 5 – 19. The amnesty saw 101 guns and 3,000 rounds of ammunition being surrendered to the authorities.
Dozens of gun-related arrests have been made since the new law took effect.
The Government suffered a major setback to its crime-fighting tool on November 25 when the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) again refused to support the extension of states of emergency (SOEs) that had been declared for seven parishes.
The SOEs were announced two weeks earlier by Prime Minister Andrew Holness who, like the Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson, argued that the emergency measure saves lives. After the initial two weeks, the continuance of a SOE is dependent on a two-thirds vote in both houses of Parliament to remain in effect. While the Government with its super majority in the House of Representatives easily achieved the two-thirds threshold, it failed to receive the support of the single opposition senator that would have allowed the SOE to remain in force.
After a war of words played out publicly between the government and opposition following the derailment, the government reimposed SOEs for another two weeks from December 6 and again on December 28.
Horace Chang faces backlash for suggesting police shoot to kill
Despite facing criticism, the Minister of National Security, Dr Horace Chang refused to back down from a controversial statement he made in September in which he seemed to suggest the police should shoot to kill when engaged by criminals.
Among those urging Chang to clarify his statement were human rights and civil society groups, such as Jamaicans for Justice, Stand Up Jamaica, the Independent Commission of Investigations and the Opposition.
Chang, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, while speaking in Westmoreland did not use the actual words “shoot to kill”. He said: “They (the police) not out there shooting down people like that. There are fatal shootings because man shoot gun after dem. I not telling police not to fire back, and a say it right here in Westmoreland, I not sending no ambulance out there either”.
Continuing, Chang said “Anytime a man take up a gun after police, I expect the (police) commissioner to train the police when they shoot they must not miss”. His critics swooped down on him after the comments forcing him to clarify rather than retract the statement.
During a radio interview Chang said he was taken out of context and sought to assure that the government was not pursuing a shoot to kill policy in its attempts to tame the crime monster. He said the police should be trained to respond when men attack them.
“The logical conclusion is not to shoot to kill, the criminals are shooting to kill…I never said that, I said he must be trained not to miss because if him miss him ‘gon get killed and I don’t want any of my police officers killed by criminals”.
HISTORIC FIRST: DPP wins appeal against murder convict
October 28 was a momentous day for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) as it secured a historic first when it won an appeal against murder convict Lindell Powell, a decision that saw Powell’s 12-year prison sentence for two murders committed in 2017 overturned, and life sentences imposed instead.
On count one the Court of Appeal ordered that Powell serve life in prison, with a stipulation that he serves 20 years and seven months at hard labour before becoming eligible for parole.
On count two Powell will serve life in prison, with the stipulation that he serves 24 years and seven months at hard labour before becoming eligible for parole. The sentences are to run concurrently and are to be treated as having commenced on the date they were imposed. Effectively, Powell will serve the longest of the two sentences, which is 24 years and seven months at hard labour.
The historic appeal, which was brought before the Court of Appeal in May this year, was the first to be filed under the Act. The Crown had recommended life imprisonment, with eligibility after 21 years for each count during the original sentencing. That bid was, however, dismissed by Justice Bertram Morrison who tried the matter.
Powell was taken into custody after being held with a firearm belonging to Oral McIntosh, a licensed firearm holder, who was shot dead at his home at Top Lincoln District, Grange Hill, Westmoreland, on Saturday January 7, 2017.
During a question-and-answer interview held on July 15, 2017, Powell indicated that he was in the company of Logan Miller, otherwise called Alkaline (now deceased), on the day of the murder.
Powell confessed that he and Alkaline were on the road robbing men and women when he saw two men in a yard. He went to them and said “go pon unnu face”. While the men were on the ground he searched McIntosh’s van while Alkaline searched the men. He said that Alkaline found a gun on McIntosh, shot him in his head, and took the gun. They also took the slain man’s phone and about $32,000 in cash.
Powell also confessed to the murder of a man named Ika Clarke in March 2017 at Mount Mountain, Grange Hill, Westmoreland.
When he was asked what part he played in that murder he said, “Fire five shot inna him chest.”
He also stated that Clarke was killed because, “him did a mek talk seh mi cousin, Bleacher, cyaan bury an den mi a go dead — an him already kill one a mi fren, Jabez “. Additionally, Powell said that the gun the police found on him on July 14, 2017 was one of the weapons used to kill Clarke.
Cabbie awarded $18 million in damages for wrongful detention under SOE
St James taxi operator Roshaine Clarke, was on June 17 awarded approximately $18 million in damages by the Constitutional Court after he was successful in bringing a case of wrongful detention against the Attorney General, under the state of emergency (SOE) that was declared for the parish of St James in January 2018.
The court, in its landmark decision, also declared as unconstitutional, the Emergency Powers Regulations governing the SOE at the time.
The full court comprising Justices Chester Stamp, Anne-Marie Nembhard and Tara Carr was asked to consider whether some of the Emergency Powers Regulations infringed or violated the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Constitution, and if so, whether these breaches were reasonably justified for achieving the purpose of the SOE in St James.
“Additionally, the court had to consider and determine whether any of Mr Clarke’s constitutional rights had been infringed or violated, and if so, whether he’s entitled to redress,” said Justice Stamp as he read from the summary of the decision.
“In disposing of the case, the court held and declared the Emergency Powers Regulations Sections 22 and 32…in respect to the fundamental rights of freedom of movement, Regulations 30, 33 and 38, in respect to the fundamental right to freedom and liberty, breached the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Constitution,” said Stamp.
In declaring the regulations unconstitutional, the Court cited that “They gave the authorities unduly unfettered power to abrogate the fundamental rights of a wide class of persons in society without evidence establishing that they were reasonably justified for achieving the purposes of the state of emergency”.
The court also found and held that “Mr Clarke’s fundamental rights and freedoms under the Constitution, in particular his right to freedom and liberty, his right to be informed of the reason for his detention as soon as is reasonably practicable, and his right to be brought forthwith, or as soon as is reasonably practicably before an officer authorised by law or a court had been violated and that he’s entitled to damages as redress for these violations”.
The court awarded Clarke a total $17,862,000 inclusive of compensatory, vindicatory and aggravated damages. He was detained for seven months, during which time he suffered from haemorrhoids and was denied medical care. He missed two surgery appointments while he was being held by the State.
According to the court, “the case raises issues of paramount national importance in an area where the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals in Jamaica traverse the measures adopted by the State to protect the society in general.”
Striking NWC workers shut down country
The country was brought to a standstill on May 10 and 11 when more than 2,000 workers of the state-owned National Water Commission (NWC) took strike action over a breakdown in wage negotiations.
The two-day strike by the protesting employees shutdown all of the water utility’s major systems leaving more than 500,000 customers without water.
The Jamaica Defence Force was quickly activated to support the NWC in restoring critical supplies to facilities such as hospitals, schools and other essential services.
Pleading with the workers to return to work, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said “steady progress” was being made in the salary talks at the Ministry of Labour.
As a result of the strike, the prime minister said the government was moving to clarify whether the NWC is an essential service.
“We consider water to be an essential commodity. We consider it to be an essential service. In the order of things, we must establish that this is the case, so I’ve asked the Attorney General to advise the government on the position as to whether or not the NWC is an essential service and how those workers would be classified. I just need to know and understand that. It is the belief that we have, but we want to just confirm it from a legal point of view,” he said.
The Holness administration resorted to whataboutism and closed ranks behind Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton when it emerged in October that eleven neonates had died at Victoria Jubilee Hospital during the summer following an outbreak of klebsiella pneumoniae infections.
Tufton only acknowledged the deaths when the matter was raised by a radio station. In responding to calls for his resignation, the government quickly pointed to the so-called dead babies scandal from 2015 when 19 premature babies died from bacterial infections at the University Hospital of the West Indies and Cornwall Regional Hospital. Following criticism, then Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller stripped the Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson of the health portfolio and reassigned him to the Ministry of Health.
In brushing aside calls for his resignation, and despite the fact that 11 babies died under his watch, Tufton told the Parliament in a ministerial statement that his case was different from the Ferguson case. His desk thumping colleagues agreed.
Tufton told the House of Representatives that “It is unworthy to compare what transpired in 2015 because the circumstances [are] so much different. I am trying to be very gracious because I don’t want to appear to be politicising public health.
“That 2015 incident, for all sorts of reasons, generated significant anxiety around how the then Administration was managing the situation. In our case, we discovered a problem and we fixed the problem, and that’s the most important issue to consider,” he said.
Separately, his colleagues told journalists that Tufton has presided over the biggest upgrade of the country’s health infrastructure in decades.
Manley, Seaga appear together on new $2,000 banknote
Jamaica’s new banknotes that were first announced by Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke during his Budget presentation in March have arrived in the island and are slated for phased release into circulation in 2023.
The notes were shown during a press conference the Minister hosted on December 15.
“These notes are quite different from the notes that exist today. They feel different, they have different features, and in order for them to be in circulation the Bank of Jamaica has to work with the existing commercial banks to ensure that the [automated teller machines] ATMs can be reprogrammed to efficiently handle these notes,” Clarke outlined.
He explained that the overall currency circulation process could take up to six months, with an estimated June 2023 completion timeline.
The $2,000 banknote of which the parliamentary Opposition disapproves, bears the images of two former Jamaican prime ministers, Michael Manley and Edward Seaga, who were both contemporaries and political rivals.
In acknowledging the rivalry between the two men during his Budget presentation, Clarke noted that Jamaica went through a near civil war experience in the 1970s when Manley was prime minister, and Seaga was the Opposition leader. Clarke noted that the experience “deeply scarred the national consciousness with electoral contests becoming overtly violent in nature”.
Clarke said that the country was able to step back from the brink through civil society and political leadership.
But, he said that while the scars of this period may have healed, “persons who lived through this period are still with us and families who lost loved ones, who were displaced, who lost homes and jobs due to conflict are still with us”.
“They remember. They hurt,” Clarke said.
He added that, in many cases, “those wounds and those feelings run deep”.
“We validate those experiences wherever they exist as authentic and sincere,” he added while questioning whether the country should continue to conduct its affairs in a manner that perpetuates this hurt and bequeath unto future generations strife and division, or seek constructive, real and symbolic ways of forging unity, peace and love instead.
“We must restore unity in the country, and there was no better way to do it than to have the political rivals appearing together on the $2,000 note,” said Clarke.
“We are, therefore, pleased that the Most Honourable Michael Manley and the Most Honourable Edward Seaga, who were contemporaries and rivals, will appear together on the new $2,000 banknote
Former prime ministers Hugh Shearer and Donald Sangster appear together on the upgraded $5,000 note, while national heroes Norman Manley and Sir Alexander Bustamante jointly appear on the upgraded $1,000 note.
National heroes Sam Sharpe and Nanny of the Maroons are featured together on the upgraded $500 banknote, while national heroes Paul Bogle and George William Gordon are twinned on the upgraded $50 note.
Broadcasting Commission bans ‘scamming, molly and gun music’ from airwaves
The Broadcasting Commission in October imposed a ban on the playing of music that promotes or glorifies lottery scamming, the use of the illicit drug Molly, and illegal guns.
The ban, which was announced via a statement, took effect on October 11.
The commission said its directive to radio stations reinforces its commitment to keeping the airwaves free of harmful content given the important role traditional media still play as agents of socialisation.
“The use of the public airwaves to broadcast songs that promote/glorify illegal activity could give the wrong impression that criminality is an accepted feature of Jamaican culture and society, the commission stated.
The commission argued that this could unwittingly lend support to moral disengagement and further normalise criminality among vulnerable and impressionable youth, and the young adult demographic.
Executive Director of the Commission, Cordel Green, said the ban was the end product of a wide-ranging process that included focused monitoring, decoding of subculture dialect and urban slangs, deliberations on balancing free expression vis-a-vis protection from harm, and consultations with industry.
Despite the explanation the commission faced criticism, largely from persons in the entertainment industry who saw the directive as trampling on their right to freedom of expression.
The ban relates to, among other things “any audio or video recording, live song, or speech which promotes and/or glorifies scamming, illegal use or abuse of drugs (e.g. ‘Molly’), illegal or harmful use of guns or other offensive weapons, “jungle justice” or any other form of illegal or criminal activity.
Jamaican senior and junior track stars shine at world championships
Jamaican female sprinting continued to surge in 2022 and was on full display at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon where Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson led a podium sweep in the 100m final.
By winning the race in an impressive 10.67 seconds, Fraser-Pryce became the first woman to win five world 100m titles. Jackson was second in a personal best 10.73 seconds with Thompson-Herah stopping the clock in 10.81 for third.
Things only got better for the Jamaicans when Jackson won gold in the 200m in a breathtaking 21.45 seconds, a Jamaican national record and the second fastest time in history. Fraser-Pryce was second in 21.81 seconds while Thompson-Herah finished down the track.
Jackson’s time is shy only of the 21.34 seconds by Florence Griffith-Joyner at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Jamaica opened its medal count in Eugene with the podium sweep and went on win an impressive 10 medals comprising two gold, seven silver and a bronze to finish third on the medal table behind host nation the United States which finished with 33 medals and Ethiopia which, like Jamaica, won ten medals but which had four gold.
Only 44 of more than 190 countries that participated at the 10-day event won medals.
Jamaica also finished second in the points standings behind the United States which scored 321 points. Jamaica scored 110 points followed by Ethiopia with 106 and Kenya 104.
In the meantime, Jamaica’s junior track and field athletes stood tall on the world stage in 2022 winning an impressive 16 medals, six of which were gold while setting records at the World Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia in August.
Jamaica won most medals at the championships as the United States finished with 15. However, Jamaica finished second overall as the US topped the table after winning seven gold medals to Jamaica’s six.
During the championships Jamaica smashed the world U20 record in the women’s 4x100m relay on the night of Friday, August 5.
It was a fitting present for a nation of 2.7 million people that would mark 60 years of independence hours later on August 6.
The quartet of Serena Cole, twin sisters Tina and Tia Clayton and Kerrica Hill clocked an impressive 42.59 seconds to shatter the previous world U20 record.
Other gold medal winners were Brianna Lyston who secured her first major championship medal with gold in the women’s 200m. She clocked 22.65 seconds for an easy victory. Her teammate Alana Reid took the bronze.
Tina Clayton ran a lifetime best, new national U20 record and championship record of 10.95 seconds on the way to defending her 100m title and winning Jamaica’s first gold medal at the championships.
Her teammate and schoolmate Serena Cole clocked 11.14 for the silver.
Clayton won her first U20 title in Nairobi, Kenya in 2019.
Also winning gold in Cali was Kingston College’s Jaydon Hibbert who claimed the triple jump title in a championship record of 17.27 metres.
Brandon Pottinger won gold in the high jump when he cleared 2.14 metres while Kerrica Hill also ran a championship record of 12.77 seconds on her way to winning the 100m hurdles on the final day of the championships.
Reggae Girlz qualify for second consecutive FIFA World Cup
Led by their captain Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, Jamaica qualified for a second consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup after completing qualifying with a 4-0 defeat of Haiti at the Concacaf Women’s Championship in Mexico in July.
With the victory, Jamaica finished second in Group A of the preliminary round, giving the Reggae Girlz a direct pass to the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The defending World Cup champion United States won the group, also qualifying for the 2023 World Cup.
Khadija Shaw had a pair of goals, and Trudi Carter and Drew Spence also scored for the Reggae Girlz.
Jamaica’s second qualification to the Women’s World Cup came four years after they created history in the United States by becoming the first Caribbean team to reach the showpiece event.
On that occasion the Reggae Girlz achieved the feat by defeating Panama 4-2 on penalties in their third-place playoff match at the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship at the Toyota Stadium in Texas.
There were cheers and jeers for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge William and Kate during their three-day visit to the island in March in celebration of The Queen’s 70th year on the British throne.
While some Jamaicans protested against the visit outside the British High Commission in Kingston — some declaring the royals persona non grata — others greeted the couple with loud cheers and jubilation, perhaps demonstrating how divided the island is on the monarchy.
Among the major highlights of the visit, Prime Minister Andrew Holness told the Duke of Cambridge that the country intends to sever ties to the monarchy and become fully independent, and the prince expressed his “profound sorrow” for slavery but stopped short of offering the apology demanded by protesters who are also seeking reparations for Britain’s role in the slave trade.