By Curtis Campbell From Jamaica Star

Radio personality DJ Lux is encouraging Caribbean citizens to reject the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the final court of appeal, in the event that the matter is raised again by respective governments.

DJ Lux, who was speaking in response to the news that businessman Patrick Powell was freed of all charges related to the 2011 shooting death of 17-year-old Khajeel Mais, rose the concern that the CCJ will only serve to benefit the wealthy and further erode a justice system. He also suggested that Jamaica’s upper class and the judges are already comrades.

“So the CCJ is based in Trinidad, and Trinidad has carnival, which is their biggest export and is supported by their corporate companies, right? And who from Jamaica supports carnival the most? Nuh the upper class. So they are already associates with Trinidadians and have developed social relationships. I am not straying from the point, but I just want Jamaicans and other people in the Caribbean to think and look at the issues we might have to deal with. If indeed the wealthy and powerful are associates, then they will continue to bend the rule and benefit each other at will, and we cannot have that,” he said.

Relatively good job

The DJ also said the Privy Council has been doing a relatively good job, which is satisfactory in comparison to the Jamaican judicial system.

“We are still far from the ball. We took five years to start a trial, man decide if him want to hand in gun or not. There was no video-recording of witnesses’ first confession … so what are we doing? Dem nuh watch Law and Order and take notes? I say, let the Privy Council stay as the final court of appeal and I want Caribbean people to shut this down the minute the issue is raised again. They want to say we are so independent from England … . Well, guess what? We might be independent, but somebody else a run things here and it still facilitate segregation and we can’t afford to give them more power,” he said.

Media personality MC Nuffy also shared his opinion on the matter. He told THE STAR that classism is too much of an issue to even entertain the thought of giving the CCJ so much power.

“Seriously, a dat unno wah duh? Mi coulda never want such a thing inna the Caribbean; better it stay inna England. Based on how Jamaica a run, if the thing suh corrupted, imagine if the final court of appeal come to the Caribbean … . When it comes to the Caribbean, that a when unno a guh get fi do all unno want to do. No, no, no, better it stay a England, mi wi gwaan work wid dat. If that come in the Caribbean, it will be a uptown thing … mi a tell unno the blunt truth,” MC Nuffy said.

The House of Representatives voted for Jamaica to leave the United Kingdom-based Privy Council and establish the CCJ as Jamaica’s final court of appeal in May 2015. However, there remain several technicalities before the final decision is to be made especially with a new government in power.

IMAGE: Contributed DJ Lux

For more on this story go to: http://jamaica-star.com/article/entertainment/20161031/after-x6-muder-case-entertainers-say-no-ccj