It has been ten years since well known senior counsel Dana Seetahal was gunned down in the Woodbrook area and believe it or not, the Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard says his office is still awaiting documents from the Judiciary concerning the case, in order to set a trial.
In a GML report, Gaspard revealed that he cannot proceed with the matter until the Judiciary sends the completed committal proceedings from the preliminary inquiry to his office.
Gaspard said, “I cannot prepare and file the indictment until those documents are sent to my office. This isn’t a matter of choice. It is what the law requires.”
It will soon be a four-year wait for those documents from the court, as ten men were committed in July 2020 to stand trial for Seetahal’s murder.
The former State prosecutor was ambushed and shot dead around 12.05 am on May 4, 2014, along Hamilton Holder Street, Woodbrook, while returning to her One Woodbrook Place home after leaving the Ma Pau casino along Ariapita Avenue.
An autopsy revealed the former independent senator was shot five times by her assailants.
On July 25, 2015, Rajaee Ali, his brothers, Ishmael and Hamid Ali, Devaughn Cummings, Ricardo Stewart, Earl Richards, Stephan Cummings, Kevin Parkinson, Leston Gonzales, Roget Boucher and Gareth Wiseman were charged with the crime.
Stephan Cummings was initially charged with the group but was made a State witness after he agreed to testify against his former friends and his brother.
Seetahal’s family lamented, “The lack of resolution in Dana Seetahal’s case is not just a failure of our justice system; it is a betrayal of her legacy and an affront to the principles she stood for. The delay in bringing those accused of her murder to trial serves as a stark reminder of the impunity that persists in our society and the urgent need for accountability.”
Seetahal’s family, in a statement to media, is now urging authorities to redouble efforts to ensure her killers face the “full force of the law”.
“We call for a swift and transparent trial to commence, providing the closure that her family and loved ones so rightfully deserve. Anything less would be an injustice not only to Dana Seetahal’s memory but to the ideals of justice and fairness that she championed throughout her life,” the statement said. The family added that Seetahal was not only a prominent and respected person in the legal field but a beacon of integrity, who tirelessly advocated for justice and the rule of law.
“Her untimely demise sent shockwaves through the nation, shaking the very foundation of our legal system and sparking widespread outrage. Yet, despite a decade passing since her senseless murder, justice continues to elude us,” the family said.
In paying respect to her legacy, her sister and former director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Susan Francois, sought to underscore that, “It is deeply ironic that this tireless advocate for justice and the rule of law is still denied justice in her country.”