Sunday 6 March, marked 16 years since Glenn Jackson, the first Press Secretary to St Vincent’s Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves was assassinated.
At Jackson’s death in 2006, Gonsalves who was in Malaysia called a local radio station, WEFM, describing the press secretary as a very talented individual.
“I mean, who would want to kill Glenn?” the Prime Minister asked.
Jackson’s lifeless body was discovered in his vehicle, parked a short distance from his home in the upscale community of Cane Garden, mere minutes outside the island’s capital, Kingstown.
Upon hearing the news of his death, the country was plunged into mourning for a man who made invaluable contributions not only to the political sphere but in almost every facet of society.
From his organized Christmas carolling contest to his March on Cable and Wireless calling for cheaper rates to his lead on bananas, Glenn not only proved he was a versatile radio announcer but a man of the people.
At the time of his death, Susan Jackson, the widow, said she was confident that the person or persons who killed her husband would be caught, that hope has never materialized.
Officials on the island said the case is closed forever, as the person who was charged, Francis Williams, a then 25-year-old Sion Hill resident, was acquitted of Jackson’s murder due to mistakes made by investigators.
During his case, the now-deceased High Court Judge Frederick Bruce-Lyle described the work carried out by investigators as an “awful investigation”.
In a cable released by WikiLeaks. U.S. official in Bridgetown told Washington that the abrupt end to the Glenn Jackson murder trial would “no doubt leave most Vincentians further disenchanted with the country’s police force and criminal system.
Glenn Jackson died of a single gunshot wound, according to the report by St Vincent Police.
