Guyana to open int’l inquiry into Walter Rodney’s death

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 21:01 by GxMedia

The Guyana government has announced that it will be establishing an international commission of inquiry to probe the assassination of noted historian and political activist Walter Rodney more than three decades ago.

The announcement came from Prime Minister Samuel Hinds who read a brief message from the Office of the President at the start of Thursday’s sitting of the National Assembly.

Rodney was killed on June 13, 1980 when an explosive device went off in a vehicle in which he was travelling. A member of the Guyana Defence Force, Gregory Smith, was identified as the individual who planted the bomb.

It had long been contended that Smith was an agent for the Burnham-led PNC government of the day which was unhappy with the revolutionary rhetoric of Rodney.

Smith subsequently fled to French Guiana.