Keeping criminals in high office

Aug 09, 2012 Editorial

Societies do not take lightly to criminals. To begin, society from time immemorial reserved the right to deal in special ways with criminals. In some societies the punishment for a criminal act is considered harsh by the western world.
Other criminals suffer different fates. Because society abhors criminality, it actually built special enclosures for these criminals. These enclosures are called jails. It separates its thieves into categories. There are those who physically rob people. In Guyana, depending on the extent of the robbery, some were whipped.
The United Nations designed a series of rules which it said were based on humane treatment, and whipping was discontinued, although in recent times there were judges who actually sentenced some people to a whipping. The only tool that has been consigned to history is the cat-o-nine tails. This reportedly had crippling effects.
A criminal conviction is a stigma. Many of us are loathe to employ a criminal, regardless of how minor the crime was. Once there was word that one was convicted, employers would not employ, and it is not that Guyana has a surfeit of manpower. The situation is such that even if remotely one is associated with a criminal that person, if he holds high public office, would resign.
It is here that Guyana seems to differ in a major way. For one, while the law is said to be for everyone, Guyana seems to have laws for some and another law for others. There was the case of the government Minister who not only discharged a loaded firearm at an individual, but hit the individual with his firearm. He was never prosecuted. Instead, he was sent overseas to serve in a diplomatic capacity.
There were cases of individuals who were fingered in corruption, but unlike what would happen in the more developed countries, the person fingered in corruption is not even sanctioned. Examples are too numerous.
Just recently, a Minister of Finance in a developed country resigned because his wife was found with a huge sum of cash contrary to the law. The Minister was in no way involved, but decency dictated that he quit in the face of a criminal act.
Presidential spokesperson, Kwame McCoy was convicted of a serious criminal activity on Tuesday. Using his office as a shield, he physically acted against people with his firearm. The matter ended up in court and even there he lied. He claimed that he had surrendered the firearm to a policeman, but in court the policeman denied any such allegation.
For starters, the act of attacking harmless people with a forearm warrants a revocation of the firearm licence. This has not been done. It must be that there is one law for McCoy and another for the rest of the society.
His employers, among them the President of the country, never sought to have McCoy proceed on leave, which is the natural thing to do. Even policemen at the centre of investigations in certain countries are sent on leave pending the investigation. McCoy was not even asked to demit office or to recuse himself from duty.
The nation must admit that until recently, there would not even have been a criminal prosecution. People in the government were apparently immune from prosecution. President Ramotar removed any such restrictions with the result that McCoy had to face justice. He was convicted.
The nation now awaits the decision by Office of the President. Is it prepared to keep a convict in its employ? Surely that will not go down well with the rest of the society.
But McCoy should have done the decent thing and resign from the time the charges were laid. He placed the onus on his employers. He, by no stretch of imagination, could be considered one who associates with decency.
He was fingered in a child molestation issue, and Office of the President allowed him to remain in the high profile employment, although the United States saw the matter for what it was and revoked his visa.
McCoy must not be allowed to interface with the public under the umbrella of one employed by the highest office in the land.

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Keeping criminals in high office

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