The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net 

THE family of Jean Rony Jean-Charles, a Bahamas-born child of Haitian parents whose legal trials symbolised hope for many residents of Haitian descent, have yet to bury their loved one as the first anniversary of his murder approaches.

Jean Rony’s body has remained in the morgue since he was killed in August 2023. 

Clotilde Jean-Charles, 42, his sister, expressed frustration yesterday with the delay in receiving his body and discussed the emotional and mental toll of being unable to bury her loved one. 

“I never thought it would take this long and it would lead to one thing to the next because I never experienced this before,” she said. 

“All I know is you ID the body, and afterwards, you arrange for the funeral arrangements, and that was it, but with his case, everything turned out to be different.” 

She was reluctant to give details about why her brother’s body had not been released to her family out of fear of angering various parties involved in the process. 

She lamented that her family would not be able to give her brother a “proper burial.” 

“The only thing left for us to do was cremate him, and that isn’t what we wanted to do,” she said. 

“We wanted to have a proper burial because we started to get prepared, like get clothes and stuff. His favourite colour is purple, so we got the girls purple dresses with silver, and everything is just at a standstill. The way we wanted him to be buried properly is no longer going to happen.” 

Jean Rony, a Bahamas-born child of Haitian parents, did not apply for citizenship when he was 18 and 19 as he was entitled to do under Article seven of the Constitution. 

Immigration officials apprehended him on September 18, 2017, and deported him to Haiti on November 24, 2017, citing his alleged failure to produce documents that confirmed his identity. 

After a judge ordered his return at authorities’ expense, Jean-Charles returned in 2018. 

Former Attorney General Carl Bethel said at the time that Jean-Charles’ case placed the government in a position uncovered by law or the constitution and exposed a significant and far-reaching legal challenge over the verification of birth certificates. 

The Court of Appeal later overturned the Supreme Court’s ruling. However, the Privy Council ruled in Jean-Charles’ favour in December 2022. The appellate court remitted the matter to the Supreme Court to reconsider the application for constitutional relief. 

The case was still pending up until Jean Rony’s death. Tyrone Strachan, Jr, was charged with his murder. 

Ms Jean-Charles remembered her brother as a people person who was fun to be around. 

Coping with his death is still a challenge, she said, adding: “A lot of things won’t be the same even though we don’t see eye to eye every day, but knowing that the person was alive, it’s different than knowing that you’re not going to see that person again.” 

Despite all that happened, Ms Jean-Charles said she is happy about her brother’s legacy because his case became a flashpoint in the fight over citizenship and immigration practices. 

“He really went through a lot, and for me to see that he is no longer here and to know what all he went through and to see how far he made it and for him to no longer be here is sad,” she said.