Dear Editor,
Please grant me the space in your publication to clear up a misconception that the public may have regarding the sordid situation at City Hall involving a former rank of the City Constabulary and a minor.
I fear that my good name will be impugned if I fail to let the public know my stance in this matter.
First of all, let me state that I am not a member of the Legal Affairs Committee, but like all other Councillors, I have the right to attend any of the various Committee meetings including the Legal Affairs.
I should also add that while Councillors are eligible to attend any Committee meetings, as non-members, they do not have a vote.
As Deputy Mayor I received an invitation to attend a meeting of the Legal Affairs Committee on September 13, 2017.
I showed up at the appointed time for the meeting where the sole agenda item was to deal with the alleged sexual abuse of a minor at the City Constabulary Regent Street Outpost on August 23, 2017.
After observing the trend of the meeting, I stood up and voiced my opinion that no one in the meeting was a member of the legal profession or even close to being one and as such it’s my opinion that this case should be referred to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions post haste. My concerns were noted and recorded in the minutes.
At the next meeting of the Legal Affairs Committee on September 29, when Corporal Pellew and Corporal Baveghems were “cross examined” for want of a better word, by the Committee, I again stood up and again stated that the Guyana Police Force and the office of the DPP should be called in immediately. I went on to state that the longer time we took the greater will be the public fallout with the City Council when this gets out to the media.
As I recall, I went as far as to refer to the proceedings as a “kangaroo court” in my opinion.
I would also like to mention that Councillors Welton Clarke and Bishram Kuppen voiced similar opinions to mine at the said meeting. Needless to say, the rest is history.
I would now like to address the dismissal of Corporal Baveghems by the Town Clerk Royston King.
It is my opinion that this is a wrongful termination of service of an aspiring young constable and brilliant court prosecutor for the Mayor and City Council.
How in God’s name could Corporal Baveghems report the sexual encounter between the officer and the minor when the said officer was, at the time, the duty officer in charge of the outpost!! In my opinion Corporal Baveghems did the right thing.
He waited for the shift to change at 7 am and then reported the incident to the incoming senior officer. I would like to commend him for his common sense approach to the matter.
I would like to state that the above letter is my individual statement and I do not speak on behalf of the Mayor and the City Council
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to express myself.
Yours faithfully,
Lionel Stanislaus Jaikaran
Deputy Mayor
Municipality of Georgetown
