Bermudians have spent much of this week relating to news of the death of former Jamaican Ambassador, the Hon. Dudley Thompson, QCOne of his country’s most brilliant lawyers, a most colourful, firebrand politician, he succumbed to a massive heart attack on January 20, one day after celebrating his 95th birthday. He was visiting New York to address a group of university students.The Jamaican Gleaner reporting on his sudden death noted it would be an understatement to say Dudley Thompson lived a full life. He served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War; he was a respected lawyer, committed Pan Africanist, Senator, Government Minister and Ambassador. Another newspaper headlined: ‘Dudley the Dragon is Dead.’ He was an actor, fearless, erudite, one of the finest of lawyers, a brilliant thinker.The Jamaican Observer banner headlined: “Dudley is Dead. Long Innings Ends at 95.” The Final Call newspaper cited Dudley Thompson as a man of accomplishment, known widely for his keen wit, his oratory and his passion for his people.He became a Rhodes Scholar after service in the RAF. In England he interacted with such Pan-African greats as Kwame Nkrumah, who led that West African nation to Independence; George Padmore of Trinidad and Jomo Kenyetta of Kenya, all visionaries, who saw the importance of a United Africa and a Black Diaspora.He was well-known in Bermuda as indeed the rest of the world as the brilliant defender of Jomo Kenyetta, during his sensational trial as leader of the Mau Mau revolution in Kenya.News that Dudley Thompson might be coming to Bermuda in the early 1970s to take over the defense of one of his compatriots caused some of the powers-that-be to have conniptions. It caused flashbacks to the time when another eminent Jamaican lawyer, J. Henry Spencer-Joseph, deemed to be one of the best legal brains in the whole of the Caribbean who was brought to Bermuda in 1902 to take over the defense of Charles Vinton Monk, the AME clergyman who was owner and editor of the New Era newspaper.Monk was charged with criminal libel. He took over his own defense when Spencer-Joseph died a mysterious death in the arms of his beauteous and devoted white English wife, in the old New Windsor Hotel, the night before he was to appear in court for Monk. It was speculated he had been poisoned.The mid-century oligarch dusted off the 1905 Supreme Court Act that was put on the Statute Books in the aftermath of Monk’s historic trial, to close loopholes in the law particularly to deal with so-called agitators of the ilk of Monk and his supporters; and making it impossible for “ship-to-shore- lawyers” to come here to practice in Bermuda courts.Here I quote from my book, FREEDOM FIGHTERS, Monk to Mazumbo where the Attorney General reporting to the Home Office in London reference the Supreme Court Act, 1905, stated:“The passage dealing with the admission of barristers will enable the admission of barristers and attorney will enable the court to exercise more efficient supervision over these practitioners than was practicable under the repealed enactments.” The amended law required that a lawyer before being admitted to practice at the Bermuda Bar had to have two continuous years residence in Bermuda during the fifteen years preceding his application.”I was in the Supreme Court the day Dudley Thompson’s application for admission was made by (later Dame) Lois Browne Evans. I’ll never forget how he got the rapt attention of the Chief Justice and everybody else in the court with his dramatics, his flair and oratory and how he dismissed speculation about whether he even qualified to enter Bermuda to ‘work.’ He said he had spent much time fighting to get into countries before to practice. But that was the first time he had to fight to get into a court to practice.He climaxed his speech with a discourse on what he called ‘Hope and Expectation.’ And he took the smile of the face of the Chief Justice when he with a grin declared, ‘We all hope for justice,’ adding sarcastically, after a long pause,’ But we don’t expect it.’Senator Thompson was admitted to practise, and since then many other distinguished “ship to shore” lawyers continue to this day to represent clients in courts.After attending Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, Dudley practiced law in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and Kenya in the early 1950s. He quickly became involved in the nationalist movements of both countries. When Kenyetta was brought to trial by the British as leader of the Mau Mau revolution, Thompson assembled an international legal team that came to his defense. When Kenyetta became president of Kenya, he placed his hand on Dudley Thompson, who was sitting next to him and said “this man saved my life.”He leaves behind widow Cecile, three daughters and a son.Among the many tributes to Dudley Thompson was the following, from he Jamaican Chamber of Commerce:“ The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce celebrates the life of one of Jamaica’s most accomplished sons.“Notwithstanding the fact that he was born in Panama, our nation’s history is all the richer through the contributions that he made in the name of his adopted country. Many will remember him primarily as an outstanding and articulate scholar; a fearless and erudite lawyer and Queen’s Counsel; and for his long and at times controversial involvement in Jamaican politics as a senator, member of the House of Representatives, minister of Government and ambassador.“Arguably though, Dudley Thompson’s legacy will be his early-developed and sustained commitment to the Pan-Africanist ethos. As one of the intellectual pillars of that movement, he rubbed shoulders and traded thoughts and strategies with a generation of visionaries that included many of the future leaders of independence movements in Africa and the Caribbean.“As these countries emerged, he contributed decades to their growth and development, in the process impacting the lives of untold numbers in both regions. It was only fitting, therefore, that the African Press in Ghana designated him a ‘Living Legend of Africa’ and that the Organisation of African Unity should award him a medal as a ‘Legend Of Africa’ among his most treasured of the many accolades he received in a lifetime of service.“Seen from today’s vantage point, it is difficult to imagine that a philosophy that had at its core the right to self-determination, a demand for respect for the history and culture of Africa and a recognition of the beauty of its people, could have been adjudged controversial particularly in a nation and a region the majority of whose peoples are so inextricably linked to the continent of Africa. As his personal motto “Live and Let Live, all men are made in the image of God” affirms, Dudley Thompson saw the scope for greatness in all, even those whose history and achievements were belittled for generations. The very fact that the Caribbean region’s African roots are today a source of pride is due to the work of outstanding servants such as Dudley Thompson.“In this year, as Jamaica celebrates the 50th anniversary of independence, it is fitting that we acknowledge and praise the unyielding zeal that informed his conviction that Africa and its diaspora could be a force to be reckoned with in the international community. That future remains a work in progress, but the foundations are becoming more and more secure.“His is an innings worth celebrating for the gift to Jamaica, Africa and the world of his talents and accomplishments, especially his advocacy for freedom, equality and independence. He dedicated his great intellect to the service of his people and to his death remained a proud Jamaican and an unrepentant Pan-Africanist.“The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce joins Jamaica in mourning the loss of a great son who belonged not just to us but also to the wider Caribbean and to Africa. We salute his memory and extend our sincere condolences to his widow Cecile and to his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and the members of his family.”