Editorial: The rule of law and the pandemic

Jamaica prides itself as a country where the rule of law exists, but this appears to be in name only during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The rule of law as a cherished principle of modern societies means that all citizens are treated equally before the law. If the enforcement of the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA)during the COVID-19 Pandemic is anything to go by, there is one law for the rich and one for the poor! Sources in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) have told the Monitor that they have witnessed gross police human rights abuses of inner-city residents during the enforcement of the DRMA. These reports suggest that some members of the security forces have physically assaulted residents in western Kingston, central Kington and eastern Kingston and elsewhere for being on the streets during the nightly curfew. There have also been reports of police officers cutting the bicycle tyres of men riding home from work during the curfew. The security forces’ decades of abusive and uneven application of the law among Jamaicans led to the establishment of INDECOM to protect citizens, especially the urban and rural poor from human rights abuses. The advent of INDECOM has led to a significant reduction in the number of reported violations of human rights, in particular extra-judicial killings.

Discriminatory policing was evident long before public uproar forced Mocha Fest to cancel its parties after it became public that the COVID-19 health protocols were ignored at the recent party held at Rick’s Café. There have also been reports that some hotels across the country were having parties in breach of the DRMA and the JCF ignored these breaches. There have also been allegations that some senior police officers, some politicians and other prominent Jamaicans have been holding parties since the start of the pandemic in breach of the DRMA without sanction. Jamaicans are understandably angry because some citizens from “low society” were arrested and charged for not wearing a mask in public or holding a party in breach of the DRMA.

However, Lime and Maiden Cays, among other places, have been closed, not because the JCF was enforcing the DRMA, but because of the public outcry against the double standards in enforcement since “high society” people were holding illegal parties at these places with the tacit support of the police. Dancehall DJs have been hauled before the courts for breaching the DRMA, the latest being Moses “Beenie Man” Davis who was fined $150,000. The breaches of the DRMA, and the high level of public disorder will continue unabated until the laws are evenly applied to all citizens. Many citizens will refuse to obey the laws when they see others citizens breaking these laws, but only the poor is arrested and charged. Discriminatory policing does not give citizens a stake in conformity and increases lawlessness in the society.