Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond has rejected Red Thread’s criticism of her remarks on the investigation into allegations against Deputy Commissioner of Police Fazil Karimbaksh, saying she neither mandated a confrontation between the complainant and the accused nor instructed investigators to breach the Sexual Offences Act.
In a statement, Walrond accused the organisation of mischaracterising her comments and engaging in selective advocacy. Her response followed comments by Red Thread’s Karen De Souza to Kiskadee Watch, expressing alarm at the proposed confrontation and questioning the independence of the investigative arrangements.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I did not say that the complainant would be confronted by the accused. I did not mandate such a confrontation, and I have issued no instruction directing investigators to subject the complainant to any procedure contrary to the Sexual Offences Act,” Walrond stated.
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During the Starting Point podcast, however, Walrond had expressly referred to a “formal confrontation” as a step in
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As reported by Kiskadee Watch, she said: “I can confirm that she (the complainant) has given a statement. I am informed from the Commissioner (of Police) that a team has been set up to deal with this investigation ... from the other persons in whom they think ... is the Deputy Commissioner Karimbaksh and
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Asked whether this was a process followed ... any rape allegation, Walrond said: “The fact is that Mr Kar ... aksh is at the helm of the police force, he is a Deputy Commissioner and so there is a particular procedure that has to be followed and so … the confrontation that would be held from the team that would be assigned after that confrontation then the matter will be adjudicated whether its disciplinary action or criminal action that would be for the criminal investigation department to determine and this team who is doing the investigation”.
Her latest statement denies directing a confrontation but does not explain what the proposed “formal confrontation” would involve, whether it remains part of the investigation or whether the complainant has requested it.
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Responding to questions from Kiskadee Watch, De Souza had said: “Red Thread is in fact appalled that the minister, who is also a legal practitioner … would even as a slip of ... tongue suggest that there would be a confrontation between the complainant and Mr Karimbaksh”.
De Souza’s criticism concerned the minister’s suggestion that a ... did not describe Walrond’s remarks as an instruction to investigators to violate the complainant’
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In her response, Walrond said Red Thread had falsely converted her remarks into an instruction to violate a complainant’s rights.
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“Advocacy is important in a democracy. Selective advocacy, however, does not entitle anyone to manufacture a position and then condemn the Government for holding it,” she stated.
Walrond further said: “Conveniently absent from this latest attack is the fact that I publicly stated that, in my view, Deputy Commissioner Karimbaksh should be placed on administrative leave pending the investigation. That position could hardly be clearer.”
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In the podcast, Walrond had said: “It is my view and I hold this strong view that he (Karimbaksh) should be sent on administrative leave pending the investigation.
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In her latest statement, the minister said both the complainant’s legal protections and the accused’s entitlement to due process must be upheld.
“This is a serious criminal allegation involving a senior member of the Guyana Police Force. It deserves a serious investigation—not political theatre, manufactured controversy or trial by public commentary,” she said.
“I remain resolute that the investigation must be professional, impartial and thorough. Let the investigators investigate. Let the evidence determine the outcome. And let the law take its course.”
In a snippet of the interview released today, the Home Affairs Minister said she believes the Deputy Commissioner of Police should be sent on administrative leave pending a full and independent investigation into the allegations of rape and threats made against him by a serving female Police Officer.
Minister Walrond noted, however, that the Police Service Commission, which institutes disciplinary proceedings against Senior Police Officers, has not been reconstituted.
The Government is responsible for the reconstitution of the Police Service Commission and in the past, the President has used the absence of a reconstituted Police Service Commission to take action as it relates to senior Officers in the Police Force.
The Home Affairs Minister said she will have to have a conversation with Police Commissioner, Clifton Hicken, on the way forward.
“It is my view and I hold this strong view that he should be sent on administrative leave pending the investigation and that is my view on this. The Police Service Commission should be the one ultimately to do that barring the fact it is not currently constitution, I would assume that it is a discussion we need to have with the Commissioner and myself as to how we address that,” Ms. Walrond stated.
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, the Opposition APNU again restated its call for Mr. Karimbaksh to be sent on administrative leave.
By Gaulbert Sutherland
December 19, 2011
Leaders of the opposition have welcomed police commissioner Henry Greene’s decision to go on leave in light of an investigation into allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman.
They believe that it is a prelude to his departure from the post. “The way is now clear for the investigation to proceed,” said co-leader of the opposition coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Dr Rupert Roopnarine when contacted yesterday. He said that he hopes that it is a prelude to Greene’s resignation from the post.
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The 34-year old mother of two had alleged that she was sexually abused by the Top Cop on the night of November 22 after she sought his assistance in resolving a police matter.
The Government Informa-tion Agency (GINA) reported on Saturday that President Donald Ramotar in an interview with the state-owned NCN said that Greene had requested leave to which he had acceded. GINA reported that the president said that he has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to seek external assistance to carry out the investigations in order to expedite them and so that justice can be done. Assistant Commissioner Leroy Brummell would be discharging the responsibilities of Commissioner pending the outcome of the investigation.
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Crime Chief Seelall Persaud has since said that an investigation into the matter has been launched. He said that there is nothing in the Police Act and Standing Orders that indicated that once criminal allegations are levelled against the Top Cop he should be interdicted from duty pending the outcome of the investigation or should resign. There have also been calls for an independent body to investigate the matter as it would not be appropriate for Greene’s own ranks to investigate him.
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This is not the first time that Greene has been at the centre of such a controversy. In 1974, a female rank had accused him of sexual abuse, a source told Stabroek News. The source explained that at the time Greene was either a cadet officer or an assistant superintendent stationed in Berbice. After the complaint by the woman, who was a special constable, a number of senior ranks intervened and the matter eventually petered out. Greene, the source said, was sent on leave following the complaint before being transferred to Georgetown.
Over the years, the source told Stabroek News, allegations were made against Greene, but nothing ever came out of those matters. In 1994, Greene allegedly inflicted a beating on a woman during a function at the Police Officers’ Mess Hall, Eve Leary, and again nothing came of the matter.
to having sex with a woman, who had sought assistance from his Office. Last December, a woman alleged that she was raped by the Commissioner of Police after she sought his assistance in a police matter that she was engaged in. The Commissioner maintained that the sex was consensual. After weeks of investigation by independent investigators from the Jamaica Constabulary Force and amidst much speculation and anxiety, the Director of Public Prosecution Shalimar Ali-Hack advised that Green be charged with rape. However, the Commissioner moved to the High Court to challenge the decision by DPP that he be charged for rape. Chief Justice Ian Chang, who heard the challenge, reviewed the evidence and gave his ruling. The outcome of that ruling has stalled the institution of the rape charge against Greene. According to Red Thread’s executive member, Karen De Souza, the picketing exercise stemmed from Chief Justice Ian Chang’s ruling last week that Shalimar Ali-Hack Director of Public Prosecutions’ recommendation that Greene be charged with rape was irrational. The Chief Justice in his ruling had said, “While the complainant did set out circumstances which unequivocally point to Greene’s commission of the offence of rape against her, it strains one’s credulity to believe that she, succumbing to verbal pressure and any threatening conduct by Greene, came out of a car and entered the hotel room without seeking to run away or escape from Greene, even though he had expressly made clear to her his intention of having sexual intercourse with her.” According to De Souza, the Commissioner has confessed his misconduct and since the Office of the Commissioner of the Police is a constitutional appointment the President (Donald Ramotar) should terminate Greene’s appointment. “There is provision under the law and constitution for the authorities to address Greene’s confessed misconduct… When Mr. Greene had ‘sexual intercourse’ with the woman he knew the police were investigating her… There is something seriously irregular in the Police Commissioner soliciting sex from a woman who was vulnerable,” De Souza said. She asserted that Red Thread is also disputing the legal ground of the Chief Justice to review the evidence the way he did and arrive at conclusion since nobody was cross-examined. “Mr. Chang managed to examine the evidence and presumably dispassionately arrive at a conclusion. Something is severely wrong with that because we are not aware that, that is the way the courts work,” she stressed. De Souza noted that Chang’s ruling has many wondering if the Sexual Offence Act of 2010 was given careful consideration in this case since the Act speaks specifically of consensual sex. She explained that in Greene’s affidavit to the court he said that his sexual encounter with the woman was consensual. However, Red Thread believes that such a claim should be determined by a judge and jury and not for Chang to examine. She stated, “The Sexual Offences Act is very clear about the circumstance of consent- the fact is if you are in a position of power and authority over somebody like the rape victim then sex cannot be assumed to be consensual and particularly given Greene’s admission it is important to us that the matter be given to a jury to determine.” De Souza stressed that it was out of order for Chang to make that determination in his own deliberate judgement. “I certainly feel that Mr. Greene’s position did not weigh heavily in Mr. Chang’s deliberation and it should have, because every Guyanese in this country knows it is not possible to get a report against the police taken by the police, much less the Commissioner of the Police,” she said. De Souza stressed that Chang has dismissed the Sexual Offences Act designed to hopefully increase the rape hearings in the court to create conditions where women could take their reports to the police. Some placards held by members of Red Thread read: “Where is
NGO, Red Thread yesterday maintained its protest for Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence to be removed over her attempts to shield an APNU+AFC candidate who was accused of child molestation and another counter-picket was held by her supporters.
Three weeks ago, Stabroek News reported that Lawrence had referred to molestation accusations against Winston Harding, APNU+AFC candidate for the Georgetown City Council as a “family matter.” Rights group Red Thread and other child advocacy groups have since called for her to be removed. Lawrence is a key figure in the PNCR, the major component of the ruling coalition.
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Red Thread’s protest outside of the Ministry of the Presidency yesterday was again countered by a small group of women who picketed in defence of the Minister. Decked out in t-shirts and placards bearing Lawrence’s picture and words of support, the women stood at the opposite side of the road to show solidarity with the Minister.
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The Lawrence supporter said “We will not stand for it, we are there for her and we are going to protest until we meet the end for her because I can see no wrong with what she did. Red Thread didn’t put she deh, is we the people put she deh and they ain’t got nobody who could move Volda unless we vote her out and we are not going to vote her out. The woman who is making these allegation … there was a Minister there before Ms. Lawrence, why didn’t she bring it up then?”
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On the other side of the road, Head of Red Thread, Karen de Souza told the media that she found it interesting to see such ardent supporters of the Minister, adding that based on what she had seen, the placards being displayed by the women on the opposite end do not speak to the issue of child protection.
“They are prepared clearly to defend Minister Lawrence regardless of anything; they are not speaking of child protection nor are they speaking of the (accused molester) that they are defending. But it is clearly a very resourced picket and I hope it’s not taxpayer dollars that is supporting it,” de Souza said.
She added: “Volda Lawrence as the Minister responsible for Social Protection has done nothing in relation to child protection, she has done nothing in relation to the social issues, sexual offences in relation to domestic violence…..in this particular instance, she intervened in a matter regarding a child and did not protect the child, in fact she protected the (alleged) abuser of that child because he (Harding) is a party member, because he is a candidate on the local government list and that is absolutely unacceptable. This is behaviour that we have seen over and over again, this is behaviour that we have condemned under the last Government and it is a behaviour that we will continue to condemn under this government,” de Souza said.
Alluding to one of the placards displayed by the group of Lawrence supporters which read, ‘Webster didn’t do it, Manickchand didn’t do it, so why we expect Volda Lawrence to do it’, de Souza stated that she no longer has the expectation of the Minister fixing anything since she has already demonstrated that she can’t do it.
“She can’t fix it, she’s not interested in fixing it, and so we’re saying that she has to go,” the activist said.
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Harding said, “She (Lawrence) issued a call saying it is the time to respect our women and children, but who is she respecting now? Children need to be protected at all cost, every single child, more so every human being. Never in history has child molestation been a ‘family issue’”.
The candidate, Winston Harding who has been charged more than once in the past but not convicted and is the subject of an ongoing matter, now holds a seat on the Georgetown City Council. Harding managed to secure a large number of votes in his constituency even though APNU+AFC withdrew its support for him after a news item in Stabroek News on the charges against him.