‘A time comes when silence is betrayal.’ – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
When MLK spoke those words he was pointing out that, in certain cases, the ultimate tragedy is not the oppressive acts of bad people but the silence over those acts by good people.
Forty years hence, in a different country, in an entirely different situation, the silence of good men appears to be plaguing the Cayman Islands.
Grand Court Justice Alexander Henderson, former police officer Burmon Scott and former Cayman Islands journalist John Evans have all been dragged into a misconduct investigation that has since determined the three men did not break any laws.
Police Commissioner Stuart Kernohan and RCIPS Chief Superintendent John Jones have also been investigated since May in connection with vague allegations of misconduct, but neither man has been arrested or charged with any crimes.
The reputation not only of these individuals, but of the police service and, to a lesser extent, the local judiciary has been drawn into question at the least and possibly damaged beyond repair at the worst.
Yet, as shocking revelation after shocking revelation has emerged from the on-going investigation being conducted by officers from the UK Metropolitan Police force, Governor Stuart Jack, as well as anyone purporting to represent the police involved in the investigation, remains silent.
Judges have ruled that officers from the special investigative team used improper and illegal methods in obtaining some search warrants, and have been denied other search warrants partly because the court ruled the men those warrants were sought against had committed no criminal offence.
Attorneys for the police have argued that warrants should have been issued simply because police officers had reasonable suspicion that an offence might have been committed; in effect, their view seems to be that the courts and justices of the peace should act as rubber stamps and approve whatever investigators requested.
This is preposterous; almost beyond belief.
The Governor has refused on numerous occasions to discuss issues of cost, command and legality regarding this on-going probe; so have members of the special police team and their apparent bosses from the UK Met.
This silence is at the point of becoming a betrayal of the Cayman Islands and the people who call it home. It is not anything close to passing for good governance. It is not in keeping with principles of openness and transparency in a democratic society.
We believe Governor Stuart Jack is a good man and does have the best interests of these islands at heart.
But we also believe he should prove it by lifting the veil of silence, and informing the public of the issues that it has a right to know.
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