-following Non Pareil attack
Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, following the attack on Magistrate Nigel Hawke and his wife early Monday morning, has promised that security measures will be implemented at the homes and court rooms of magistrates countrywide.
Rohee, Commissioner of Police Henry Greene, and several senior officers of the force’s administration met on Monday evening with members of the magistracy including Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson to discuss issues related to their personal security. The meeting was organized late Monday evening by the Home Affairs Ministry after the Magistrates’ Association of Guyana (MAG) demanded an immediate audience.
According to press release issued shortly after 11 pm on Monday by the police on behalf of the Home Affairs Ministry, “the Magistrates called for immediate and sustained interventions for the overall improvement in security at the Magistrate’s Courts across the country, as well at their residences.”
The Minister, the release said, acknowledged the attack on Magistrate Hawke and attacks on magistrates and their relatives/associates in the past by criminal elements “and committed to implementing a number of security measures requested by the magistrates”.
Some of the measures are expected to be implemented with immediate effect, while others will be implemented over time. The provision of armed security at magistrates’ residences and courts and scanning/searching of persons before they enter the courtroom are among the measures to be implemented.
While demonstrating his full support for enhancing the safety of magistrates, Rohee also called for the active involvement of the Chancellor of the Judiciary in this process. The magistrates also indicated that they will cooperate with the security forces in order to ensure a heightened level of security.
Magistrate Hawke was tied, gagged and left on his bathroom floor early yesterday morning as a robber armed with an AK-47 reigned terror in his Non Pareil home for approximately 45 minutes.
As the magistrate struggled to free his hands tightly bound behind his back, the bandit escorted his wife, attorney-at-law Donelle Hawke, around their home in search of cash, jewellery and other valuables.
In a press release issued on Monday evening, police said the robbery occurred around 12.30 am at Section ‘B’, Non Pareil East Coast Demerara. Magistrate Hawke and his wife were attacked and robbed by a man armed with a firearm. Investigations, according to the police, have revealed that the victims were at home when they were confronted by the attacker who had managed to gain entry to the building. The armed man carted off a laptop, a digital camera, two cell phones, a quantity of jewellery worth about $350,000 and $15,000 cash.
A senior police source told this newspaper yesterday that investigations were ongoing but no arrest had yet been made.
The magistrate had told this newspaper that he did not believe he and his spouse were targeted. His wife, he said, told him the gunman had said he was sent to kill her husband. However, the attacker later asked what the magistrate did for a living.
“I don’t believe he was sent to kill me because he asked my wife what I did for a living…it was clearly a random attack,” the magistrate told Stabroek News.
During the time they lived in the neighbourhood, Hawke said, he’d felt safe. People in the area, he added, were not even aware of his job title. However, the attack has robbed the Hawkes of their sense of security.
