A former Haitian legislator is calling for the appointment of five judges to investigate the assassination of President Jovenel Moise on July 7 even as the justice authorities are finding it difficult to get a judge to examine the file and exhibits relating to the assassination.
Former Deputy, Gary Bodeau said that more than a month after Moise was gunned down at his private residence overlooking the capital, Haiti has still not been able to disclose the circumstances that led to his death.
He is calling for the authorities here to a panel of five Haitian judges supported by United Nations experts to begin the investigation.
Former prime minister Laurent Lamothe is also questioning the delay in the investigations.
“One month already since the tragic assassination of President Jovenel Moise: Where are we? We must fight to the end for justice! This fight will not be easy but unavoidable,” he added.
Last week, the Dean of the Tribunal, Judge Bernard Saint-Vil, said he was finding it difficult to appoint a judge who would agree to investigate the “explosive” file.
Several investigating judges are reported to have told the Dean that they would not participate in the probe because they fear for their own safety even as he has informed them that he has asked the government to guarantee their safety as well as provide bodyguards.
The documents were handed over last this week following 25 days of investigation, interrogation and searches in the killing of Moise, who was shot at least 12 times when the armed gunmen raided his home. His wife, Martine, who was also injured during the incident, said the gunmen had come looking for a specific document and had been in communication with a Spanish-speaking person on the telephone during the ordeal.
Police say they have arrested 44 people, including 12 Haitian police officers and 18 Colombians who were allegedly part of the commando team and two Americans of Haitian descent. The head of Moise’s security detail is among those detained in connection with the plot allegedly organized by a group of Haitians with foreign ties.
Moise’s wife, Martine, who has hinted at the possibility of contesting the presidential elections scheduled for September 26, said recently that it was important for those involved in the assassination to be arrested.
“I would like people who did this to be caught, otherwise they will kill every single president who takes power. They did it once. They will do it again,” she told the New York Times newspaper, adding “President Jovenel had a vision and we Haitians are not going to let that die”.
CMC
