The Guyana Bar Association (GBA) is calling for personal security as a basic job condition for all judicial officers at every level.
The GBA has also strongly condemned the recent criminal attack at the residence of Magistrate Nigel Hawke and urged the government, the judiciary and members of the legal profession to do likewise. The Magistrates Association of Guyana (MAG) has already done so and has succeeded in having the police place guards at the homes of all magistrates and in all courtrooms.
The GBA said in a statement yesterday, “as a profession and society we cannot tolerate or excuse violence of any kind, in this instance against a judicial officer. The safety of judicial officers is of utmost concern to the bar.”
In the statement signed by GBA President, Attorney-at-law Teni Housty, the professional body asserted that the safety of judicial officers was a “fundamental prerequisite in the fearless administration and dispensation of justice, the maintenance of the independence of the judiciary and the upholding of the rule of law.”
The GBA also urged that the Guyana Police Force “exert all efforts to secure the immediate apprehension and prosecution of the offender responsible for the attack on Magistrate Hawke and his family.”
Moreover, the GBA called on the police to commence and continue regular mobile patrols at the residence of judicial personnel.
Meanwhile, the GBA also wants “the executive to introduce personal security as a fundamental condition in the hiring of judicial personnel at all levels.”
In addition, the GBA called on the administration “to support all efforts that will preserve the safety and security of all judicial officers; [and] to allocate sufficient financial resources, firstly to address the impacts of this attack and secondly, to ensure the provision of adequate security for all judicial officers.”
The GBA also urged the judiciary to “continue to dispense justice and uphold the rule of law without fear or favour; to defend against all threats to the independence of the judiciary; [and] to develop and implement guidelines and protocols for judicial security.”
Members of the legal profession must also offer “our fullest support to our colleagues and their family and continue to maintain and defend the foundations of our justice system,” the GBA added.
Magistrate Hawke was tied, gagged and left on his bathroom floor around 12.30 am on Monday as a robber armed with an AK-47 reigned terror in his Non Pareil home for approximately 45 minutes.
During this time, the bandit escorted the magistrate’s wife, attorney-at-law Donelle Hawke, around their Section ‘B’, Non Pareil East Coast Demerara home in search of cash, jewellery and other valuables.
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.
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 had told Stabroek News.
On learning of the crime, the MAG had issued a call for security for magistrates and for a meeting with Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, and Police Commissioner Henry Greene. Rohee, Greene, and several senior police officers met representatives of the MAG, including Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson, late on Monday evening.
According to a 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. Rohee committed to implementing a number of security measures requested by the magistrates; some with immediate effect and others 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.
The MAG had said that it had prepared a detailed security memorandum since October 11, 2006 and sent it to the Chancellor of the Judiciary and the Commissioner of Police. However, no action was taken.
