CoI to be held into alleged plot against President

Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan says that the snags encountered during the investigation of an alleged plot to assassinate President David Granger led the country’s leader to order a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the matter.

“All of us didn’t like what was playing out. It was taking a long time, the witness wasn’t turning up, confrontation and a number of things concerning all of that. So he said we will take a decision as to what he would do and it has now come down to a Commission with terms and conditions that will be his totally,” Ramjattan told Stabroek News yesterday.

The Public Security Minister said that Minister of State Joseph Harmon will speak on the matter and he did want to go into anything further. He pointed out that the terms and conditions of the CoI was something the President deliberated on.

“I am well aware of it. As to the terms and conditions and whatever, because it was something his Excellency had to deliberate on, it is something personally concerning him,” Ramjattan stated.

Back in April of this year, Harmon had informed that the police were probing a report of a plot against the President.

His response was in direct reply to a question posed by a HGPTV reporter if government was indeed investigating such a plot.

That station had reported on an interview with a man who claimed that a businessman had solicited his services in assassinating the president.

A reliable source had told Stabroek News that despite several efforts, the police were unable to hold a planned confrontation owing to the reluctance of a witness to come forward.

A previous confrontation was held with the complainant, who, initially, was also hesitant to co-operate, the source added.

The police had held a confrontation between the man who made the report of the plot and another who he said could verify his story.

A well-placed source had disclosed that the purported witness told the police that the complainant approached him after making a report to the police of the alleged plot to assassinate the president, and asked him if he could support his story by going to the police and giving a statement saying that he was present when a businessman offered the complainant money to assassinate the President.

Further, the purported witness stated that the complainant offered him money in exchange for him supporting the complainant’s report.