Dear Editor,
Guyana’s Minister of Local Government, Mr Kellawan Lall, has been under the gun of the press, over allegations that he committed several violent criminal acts on November 18, 2007, during an alleged “drunken rum-shop brawl” at a liquor establishment in the village of Vryheid’s Lust. In a letter to the press titled “Stabroek News has been vilifying me,” (07.12.19) Minister Lall accused the Stabroek News of engaging in an “unending campaign to vilify me in public.”
Minister Kellawan Lall is accused of feloniously assaulting Joseph Doodnauth, a teenager, during the “drunken brawl” and physical altercation over a woman with whom he (Lall) is said to have an affair. The woman, who witnessed the ordeal, turned out to be Doonauth’s aunt.
Eyewitnesses, including the victim, allege that Minister Lall gun-butted Doodnauth on his forehead, causing visible injuries. Lall is also accused of repeatedly using expletives and threatening language. Having been accosted and assailed, and realizing that the confrontation had become uncontrollable, the teenager left the liquor establishment for his home. Mr. Lall, the adult Minister of Government, subsequently left the rum-shop in his vehicle and allegedly proceeded to drive along the roadway in search of the teen. Upon seeing him, Lall, according to Doodnauth and other eyewitnesses, deliberately and intentionally jammed him with his vehicle. It did not end there. Minister Lall then exited his vehicle and, admitted, discharging several gun shots.
Even more distressing, the injured teenager was arrested by the police and taken to Sparendaam Police Station, and not to a hospital. The Minister, the assailant, showed up later. He has not been charged with a crime and is still on the job. President Bharrat Jagdeo has said he will not ask Lall to step aside. PPP General Secretary, Donald Ramotar, would only say that the ruling party has noted the incident. It is now being reported in the press that Minister Lall has since “settled” this matter, out of court. The nation has also been told that pursuant to this so-called “settlement” the police will not take action against Lall.
This cover-up is an outrageous and unacceptable miscarriage of justice, which must be vehemently rejected by the people of Guyana . Not only was Lall’s alleged conduct criminal, it was unethical, immoral and unbecoming of a public official. He has disgraced the government and is a grave embarrassment to the nation. Criminal offences are deemed in law to be crimes against the state or the people, not against an individual victim per se. Therefore, jurisdiction over the disposition of criminal matters expressly rests with the Police, the charging authority and the Director of Public Prosecu-tions (DPP), the prosecuting authority. The court is the adjudicator and finder of facts; and upon conviction, the imposer of penalties and prison sentences.
Where does Minister Lall get off thinking that he can commit a crime and then just settle it with his victim without regard for the law? What message is the government sending to the public, particularly our youth? How could the DPP and the Police Commissioner, in good conscience, allow such crimes to go unpunished? Aren’t they embarrassed by their own inaction?
Minister Lall in his letter said “So far what is clear is that all parties concerned have indicated to the police that they do not want the matter to go any further. Also, the competent authorities are currently determining whether I used my firearm in an appropriate manner.” Do you, Minister Kellawan Lall, suppose that discharging your firearm in public during a “drunken brawl,” or in the vicinity of a non-threatening teenager, is appropriate?
I would have been willing to forgive the Minister, as exercising bad judgment and being caught up in the moment, had he ended this matter after Doodnauth left the original scene. However, the fact that he, an adult Minister of the government, allegedly went in pursuit of Doodnauth, after he left to go home, with the apparent intent to continue the confrontation, having reportedly assaulted him in the rum-shop, is particularly repugnant. It is an additional, aggravating circumstance which requires severe reprimand. Can someone who has demonstrated such critical lapses in judgment continue to hold public office and remain in the public trust? Absolutely not!
Minister Lall and Joseph Doodnauth have no locus standi or lawful authority to settle a criminal matter between or amongst them. Likewise, neither the Police nor the DPP has legal standing to accept out of court settlements in criminal matters against the state; most especially, the settlement of a case that involves the commission of multiple felonies or indictable offenses. If prima facie evidence of a crime exists; it is the responsibility of the Police and the DPP to institute charges. A plea bargain can be later arranged if the charged party decides against going to trial. This is a lawful disposition of a criminal matter. The determination to refuse or discontinue prosecution of a criminal matter must, by law, be made by the DPP, based on law, facts and circumstances. Since when do the Police and the DPP take advice from private citizens on whether to charge someone or to go forward with the prosecution of a crime, and how that case should be disposed?
The individuals who made the decision to not charge or prosecute Minister Lall, should themselves be disciplined for misfeasance or malfeasance in the discharge of their lawful public duty, which resulted in the perversion of the course of justice and injury to the public interest.
Further, if it could be established that Minister Lall has settled this matter by paying a pecuniary incentive to Joseph Doodnauth, in direct exchange for his decision or understanding not to pursue criminal charges, or to not cooperate with the Police and DPP, Minister Lall should be charged with witness tampering, bribery and obstruction of justice. This would be the natural course in any democratic society that upholds the rule of law. Is there one set of laws for regular citizens and a different standard for PPP officials? Isn’t it time to end the culture of crime, lawlessness and corruption in the government of Guyana ?
My advice to Minister Lall is to dismount his “high horse,” if he wishes to arrest further dishonor to himself, issue a public mea culpa, apologize to Joseph Doodnauth and his family and work out a plea agreement with prosecutors and the court. He can then accept and pay a hefty fine, to be imposed by a Magistrate, and end the criminal aspect of this matter without further disgrace. He may then choose to settle civilly with Joseph Doodnauth. That would be a private matter.
Let me say to Police Commis-sioner, Henry Greene and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ms. Shalimar Ali-Hack, we are watching to see if, with regard to this matter, you will discharge your constitutional duties dispassionately, and independently in accordance with the law or within the ambit of the law. This incident comes on the heels of allegations that the Alberttown Police recently received a report form an alleged thirteen year-old victim and her mother, accusing another Minister of the government of alleged sexual assault and rape of a thirteen year-old girl in his vehicle. It is alleged that this case was dropped after the police complaint was withdrawn, and the matter was allegedly settled out of court. This Minister is still on the job. How can statutory rape be settled out of court? What type of lawless society are we cultivating? What will we tell our young people about consequences for their actions?
Moreover, recently a charge of causing death by dangerous driving was reportedly dropped against Navin Prashad, the son of Guyana ‘s Minister of Trade and Tourism, Manniram Prashad, after compensation was allegedly paid. The Minister’s son was reportedly involved in a fatal accident on November 26. The Police report alleges that “Parshad drove his motor vehicle,
GJJ 6185, in a manner dangerous to the public and caused the death of 19-year-old Rajendra Jailall.” Navin Prashad was originally granted bail in the amount of $100, 000.00 but the charge was subsequently dropped.
Government officials ought to be very careful lest these high-handed, unlawful, out of court settlements of criminal matters by PPP government officials and their families, set a dangerous precedent, which ordinary citizens may soon attempt to use in court to attempt to evade criminal prosecutions. Can you imagine the type of society Guyana would become if every citizen that commits a crime pursued this same course that has been adopted for PPP government officials?
Yours faithfully,
Rickford Burke
