No one has been arrested in connection with the series of explosions in Port-of-Spain and environs nearly 11 years ago, which left one woman, Yvonne McIvor, now 76, of Arima, without a leg and loss of hearing in her left ear, while several other people suffered minor injuries.
The first bomb which was placed in a metal garbage can on the sidewalk exploded on July 11, 2005. It was the first of a series of bombings that took place in the city between July and October 2005.
Patrick Manning, the then prime minister, while in Parliament, had described the man behind the bombings as “Mr Big.” However, no one ever found out who was “Mr Big,” since no one was arrested or charged in connection with the matter.
But according to prison sources, a suspect who was wanted in connection with that crime is now behind bars on a murder charge. Prisons officers said the suspect has confessed to people in jail that he was behind the explosions that caused injury and panic in downtown Port-of-Spain and St James. Officers said the accused is “an expert in devices.”
Questioned why they had not taken the information to the police, prisons officers said it was the police’s duty to do their job and investigate the crime.
When asked if it was possible that there are inmates who committed other crimes that they were not charged for, secretary of the Prisons Officers’ Association Gerard Gordon said: “Of course, they usually send for the suspects for tracing and a lot are career criminals meaning it is not the first time they have committed a crime. We are not the police in investigating crime. That is their job. We hold people on warrants that come from the court.”
When contacted, Assistant Commissioner Glenn Hackett did not comment on other crimes that inmates had committed and were not charged for. Questioned about the explosions that occurred years ago, he said he believed it was investigated by an officer who has been “retired for several years and would look into it.”
Former deputy commissioner Gilbert Reyes, who is now retired, was investigating the bombings. Reyes said he believed that the case did not yield any results. He said he did not know what has taken place with the investigation after his retirement.
Yvonne McIvor...
Still waiting for justice
Meanwhile, McIvor, a cancer survivor who was walking past Maraj Jewellers on Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain, on her way to the Radiotherapy Centre in St James for treatment when the device in the dustbin exploded, is still waiting for justice.
While no one has been arrested for the crime which left people wounded and devastated, McIvor was happy to hear that the man behind it was at least in jail for another crime. “If it is that he is behind bars it will be so comforting to know the person who has done that is actually paying for something or maybe another charge or so, and maybe it is a good thing,” she said.
McIvor said, however, the police needed to be more diligent while carrying out their duties.
McIvor said she has forgiven the person/people who almost destroyed her life, but it does not mean that they should not pay for the crime they had committed. “I don’t want any malice in me or to harbour any hate, I don’t want to...you have to love your neighbour as yourself and disregard any wrong thing that happened, sometimes we say things we don’t mean. I try not to think about it and what has happened to myself.”
Recalling the grenade recovered in Carli Bay, Couva, on May 31, after a man carrying a knapsack fled from police, McIvor said there might have been some sinister plot that could have caused “somebody to not only lose their legs and lose their hearing, but lose their life.”
McIvor has emerged from the pain and suffering over the years to be an inspiration to other people. “Many people told me that (I am an inspiration). The goodness of God has helped me.” McIvor said she and her family find the time to celebrate birthdays and other small occasions by sharing ice-cream and cake, and this helps to make life worth living.
