We are a nation of scandals

May 20, 2010 Editorial

Each day a scandal of sorts rocks this country which already has had its fair share of scandals over the years. Some are minor and quickly blow over but others remain etched in the memories of the population.
For example, there have been scandals surrounding the Camp Street jail, some more damaging than others. For example, there has been the case of prison officers smuggling drugs and other material to prisoners in the jail. There were also scandals involving prominent people being released from the prison at nights to go to their homes and enjoy whatever conjugal rights there may be and allowed to return to the prison before daybreak.
One scandal that is still etched in the memories of people involve a man who was allowed to leave the Mazaruni Prisons, travel to East Coast Demerara, kill his wife and return to the prison. A serving judge who was a lawyer at the time still has haunting memories of that issue. Privacy of conversation between a lawyer and a client prevents the man from talking openly about this event. In fact, the lawyer was only made aware of the conniving nature of the prison officers at Mazaruni when the man was freed of the murder charge. He confessed to his lawyer.
Just about every public institution is rocked by scandals. The police have been known to provide driver’s licences to people for a fee and this only came to light when investigations revealed that some of the licences had not passed through the system.
Other policemen have been known to conduct robberies while on duty or to provide cover for thieves and gunmen for a fee. Some of them have even been known to rent their weapons to criminals.
It has been the same with the army. At present soldiers are before the courts charged with robbery and murder committed while they were on official duty.
However, not all scandals are as prominently reported. Some involve people who are prominent. One of them involves the owner of a television station who is accused of pedophilia. Indeed, this is so shocking that some people in society refuse to believe the charge. Regardless, this is a matter that is fully engaging the attention of the public, especially since every court day there is a media frenzy to capture every aspect of the trial, which is about to begin.
Two days ago another scandal broke, this time involving an opposition politician. The police say that acting on a report, found ‘live’ cameras in the room of a 19-year-old employee of Guyana Times. The insinuation is that the landlord was spying on the woman during her private moments. The police say that they found live cameras in the bedroom, in the bathroom and in a clock in the bedroom.
Had this been an ordinary young woman the matter might not even have graced the pages of the newspaper. But this woman is alleged to be closely associated with the Head of State so police action was swift.
For the first time within recent memory the police attempt to have the matter tried in the court of public opinion. They release the statements issued by both the landlord and the tenant. They also release all the information pertaining to the issue.
For his part, the landlord is professing innocence. He is denying all instance of wrongdoing but something does not gel. The police say that he admitted to the presence of the cameras, that he forgot them where they were when he rented the apartment.
The landlord is telling the media that the camera—he admits to one—was disconnected and that all suspicions are baseless. He attributes the attention to his politics. He has not been charged but he is now the prime focus in the media. If he is charged the scandal will take on epic proportions only making way for a fresh scandal that would follow soon after.

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