Tuesday the country celebrated its 62nd anniversary of Independence. Many took the time to relax, rest if possible, and have as much fun as the sweltering heat would allow. It should also have been a time of reflection on how far the country has come and where it should be going, especially in the context of the ongoing exercise of constitutional reform.

But there is reason to doubt whether subjects, such as constitutional reform, preoccupy the minds of Jamaicans. I am sure it did not for those who are still recovering from the worst effects of Hurricane Beryl; who have not had power and water restored; and who have to be living through the deprivations of telecommunication services. Officialdom revelled in its usual tedious messages of what the country has or has not achieved and the usual calls for patriotism. How well these captured the imagination of the general population and Jamaicans in the Diaspora is left to be seen.

What is known is that at 62 years we are still a young nation. Yes, we have excelled in many areas of endeavour, both in the local and international sphere. But all will agree that there is a great deal more to be done as the country continues to carve out its own unique identity in a polarised world. On the world stage we have excelled in sports, the arts, and international diplomacy. We often punch way above our size. Whatever we may make of the Jamaican spirit, it is one that is not easily subdued but is constantly seeking to unearth that thing which can lead to personal or national glory. This is the kind of spirit that sustained us even before Independence and that will carry us forward to a better future.

But we must truly strive to be an independent nation that can accommodate this vast array of creativity. We must strive to remove the lasting vestiges of colonialism that continue to be a blot on our national pride. We cannot say we are independent and still continue to have the King of our colonial past as our head of State or make laws that cannot become effective unless they are signed by the King’s representative, the governor general, and whose appellate jurisdiction still lies with the colonial Privy Council, even though from time to time they may make good rulings as in the recent case with Vybz Kartel and his co-accused.

We must be more serious about the need for radical constitutional change that will place power in the hands of the people; that will truly seek to liberate them from the mental enslavement that is far too prevalent; that will give them the psychological satisfaction that they are real and true stakeholders in this project called Jamaica.

The Vybz Kartel Verdict

The Court of Appeal must be congratulated for its eminent, sensible, and just ruling in the Vybz Kartel case. The Privy Council had referred the matter to the court for review to determine if Vybz Kartel and his c0-accused were to be retried. It seemed to have come to the conclusion that the best interest of justice was not served in the case as a result of jury tampering. One does not have to have legal training to know that there is something amiss in a trial in which the jury that is appointed to render a guilty or not guilty verdict has been tainted by fraud allegations. In such circumstances, it seems that the least that could have been done was to stop the trial and consider alternatives, such as trial by a judge only. But the trial was allowed to continue, the men were convicted, the case was appealed, and finally ended up with the Law Lords in England, who ruled against the judgment.

The reasons given for denying the Crown’s request for a retrial were just. From the layman’s perch, on which I sit, how was a retrial possible after 13 years had elapsed, when evidence probably had eroded or witnesses no longer available. How could a just trial be conducted with this passage of time and the injury that might have been done with its discussion in the public sphere?

So the accused must not only have felt a sense of elation, but emancipation, at having been set free. But we must not forget that there is another side of the coin: the family of Clive “Lizard” Williams, whose family has not got a body to bury. The accused cannot be faulted for appealing the judgment. The system failed both the accused and the plaintiffs.

But there is another serious matter that this judgment has revealed: the number of cases that the courts have ordered for retrial which have been left to languish for years. Does the Ministry of Justice know of these cases? I think not. The ministry, under the leadership of Justice Minister Delroy Chuck, in the name of justice, must immediately order an audit of the penal system to ascertain and find these cases. Get on with it, Minister.

Justice must not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done. This is all part of what Independence should mean for Jamaicans. Large platitudes from political platforms or Parliament mean nothing if at the basic level the most vulnerable among us cannot have just outcomes to their judicial matters. There is indeed a great deal of work to be done.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms; Your Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life, and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. He also hosts a podcast, Mango Tree Dialogues, on YouTube. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.