No ‘clean hands’

Dear Editor,

I essentially agree with Freddie Kissoon’s take on the recent sexual allegations issues, that Indians who are opposed to the PPP are being targeted. There is a doctrine in the judicial arena called the ‘clean hands doctrine.’ In a nutshell, it requires those who are parties to petitions before the courts to be unconnected with behaviour that happens to be the subject matter of their complaint or petition.

There are very few situations in this world that present better examples of violation of this clean hands doctrine than what has come to define law enforcement in Guyana over the past 18 years.

From the extremities of a convicted felon and narcotics trafficker waxing piously about being a crime-fighter, to the convenient concern for victims of sexual abuse, the political state, its agents and agencies, continue to come to the table of justice with their hands in states of obnoxious uncleanliness. Again, evidence of the evolving Orwellian patterns of governance that have come to define the order in the Republic.

The shameful examples of Ronald Gajraj and Clement Rohee’s blatant violation of the independence of law enforcement operations has come to represent a deviation in the standard of law enforcement in Guyana over the past 18 years.

Notwithstanding the historical issues affecting our nation, law enforcement in Guyana had heretofore served as an example throughout the English-speaking Caribbean. So much so that our police officers were in great demand in Commonwealth Caribbean territories as trainers and advisors. Sadly law enforcement in Guyana today demonstrates that partisan enforcement is being rewarded, and that which embodies the principles of ‘without favour or affection, malice or ill-will,’ is targeted or punished. The refusal to offer ex-Commissioner of Police Winston Felix a contract following his retirement offers living testimony to this reality.

Yours faithfully,
Robin Williams