Dear Editor,
The arrest of Attorney-at-Law Tamieka Clarke on Friday October 28, 2022, by Superintendent Krishnadat Ramana and other ranks of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) of the Guyana Police force is a reprehensible attack on the rule of law and the constitutional right of the attorney and her client and warrants strong condemnation by all right thinking Guyanese, regardless of political affiliation, religious persuasion or ethnicity.
According to Ms. Clarke she was arrested because she advised her client, who was being investigated by SOCU, not to provide a statement to the investigators. The sequence of events as narrated by Ms. Clarke makes the entire episode even more unacceptable. It caused me to wonder if law enforcement officers in Guyana, especially those at SOCU, have been permitted to operate as if they are in Russia, North Korea or some other totalitarian country. Unfortunately, I can relate to the unprofessional conduct of Superintendent Ramana and others from SOCU. Readers may recall that I attended the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on October 15, 2021 in response to a summons, which was secured by Ramana, to answer a trumped up charge of conspiracy to commit fraud.
On my arrival Ramana and other ranks from SOCU were there to unlawfully arrest me for the same matter that caused me to be there. He also stated that he wanted to arrest me to caution me after charge, which as a former senior police officer I found to be outrageous. The entire sordid incident was captured by members of the media and streamed live for the world to see. That very day, accompanied by my attorney, Mr. Selwyn Pieters, I made a report of being assaulted by those ranks at the Brickdam Police Station, which at that time was temporarily housed in the St Stanislaus school compound, and later supplied a detailed statement of the incident. It might not surprise readers to know that so far nothing has come out of that report. On Monday October 18, 2021, I made a report to the Police Complaints Authority about the same incident.
On Tuesday February 22, 2022, I was invited by the Complaints Authority to his office to follow up on my report. Ramana and Constable 23975 Shaquel Duke were also present (Duke was one of the ranks who assaulted me). Both ranks refused to cooperate with the Authority, who then indicated that he would report their conduct to the Commissioner of Police. To date, I have not heard anything further. I am recounting all this to say that it would appear that Ramana and other ranks of SOCU are above the law and can therefore commit these egregious acts with impunity. It is obvious to me that they enjoy the support of their superiors and a particular senior government official. It must be noted that despite the reports, the display of ignorance of the law and incompetence, Ramana was promoted from the rank of Assistant Superintendent to Superintendent, skipping the rank of Deputy Superintendent and superseding many others who were more competent and knowledgeable.
I note a statement by the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall S.C, in which he said that he spoke to Ms. Clarke and informed her of his “intervention and his advice”. The Attorney General also said that as part of his intervention he spoke to the head of SOCU, Assistant Commissioner, Fazil Karimbaksh. A Freudian slip perhaps. This is a serious departure from all protocols governing the interaction between government functionaries, including the Attorney General, and senior members of the Guyana Police Force. Where was the acting Commissioner of Police in all of this? The Attorney General should have spoken to the acting Commissioner and not the head of SOCU on such a serious matter. I have repeatedly stated that part of the current problem with the Guyana Police Force is the unprecedented political interference since August 2020. The statement by the Attorney General confirms this wide spread belief.
I recall that following the arrest of retired Assistant Commissioner Clinton Conway and other retired and serving police officers on May 19, 2021, on a trumped up charge of conspiracy to commit fraud, Deputy Commissioner Nigel Hoppie, who was performing the functions of the Commissioner of Police told Conway that he (Hoppie) was powerless to instruct that they be sent on bail because the matter was political. It was only after the inappropriate intervention of the Attorney General that bail was granted. Not surprisingly, the Guyana Police Force, as is its wont, has issued a statement in which it stated that it is aware of the statement issues by the Guyana Bar Association in relation to the arrest of Attorney-at-Law Clarke. The statement went on to say that the Police Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has been instructed to launch an investigation into the matter. Editor, this is not a matter for the OPR to investigate. The OPR is currently headed by a Deputy Superintendent.
The allegation made by the attorney is directed, in the main, at Krishnadat Ramana, who holds the rank of Superintendent. It should also be noted that SOCU is headed by an Assistant Commissioner. Section 5 (3) of the Police (Discipline) Act, Chapter 17:01, addresses who can conduct a disciplinary investigation. It is pellucid that the current head of the OPR, or anyone else at that department, cannot legally conduct such an investigation. I suspect that this is just another effort by the administration of the Guyana Police Force to hoodwink the public and to convey the impression that something is being done. I hope that the lawyers concerned will see through this obvious subterfuge. I fully support the call by the Guyana Bar Association for disciplinary action, including “termination of any officer (s) who were aware of and allowed this type of conduct”. I am also fully supportive of the statement by the highly competent and respected Attorney-at-Law Mr. Nigel Hughes that legal proceeding, both civil and criminal, will be initiated for the unlawful arrest of Ms. Clarke. The ranks responsible, including their superiors, must be held accountable for this dastardly act.
As a first step all the ranks involved, either directly or indirectly, should be immediately sent on administrative leave. The unlawful arrest of an Attorney-at-Law, following so soon after the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs being sternly reprimanded by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) for the breach of confidentiality in the premature release of an embargoed judgement and thereby bringing “the administration of justice into disrepute”, and the disgraceful and undiplomatic conduct of Guyana’s High Commissioner to India, Charrandass Persaud, conveys the impression to all right thinking persons that the rule of law, common decency and professional conduct, especially by persons in authority, have eroded and is rapidly vanishing. We should be reminded of the poem by German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.” The question is, who will be next?
Sincerely,
Paul Slowe CCH, DSM
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Ret’d).
