The SOCU exercise is not law-based but politically driven

Mar 13, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
It is my firm opinion that the SOCU questioning of former PPP Ministers and former President Jagdeo has nothing to do with law and the administration of justice. It is a purely political witch-hunting exercise, designed to denigrate and humiliate the leadership of the PPP. To support this hypothesis, I will set out some uncontroverted facts.
1. The agency chosen to conduct this exercise is not the Guyana Police Force (GPF) but the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU). This choice was not made by the Commissioner of Police but by the political directorate. I was instrumental in the establishment of SOCU. It was created for the exclusive purpose of investigating organised crimes under the Anti-Money Laundering Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) law. Pradoville 2 has nothing to do with this law. Indeed, since this Government has assumed office, SOCU’s mandate has been transformed into something radically different. It takes instruction directly from Ministers of the Government. In fact, it is Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, who first announced, two weeks ago, that former Ministers of the PPP Government will be arrested and charged for Pradoville 2, shortly.
2. Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, admitted in the National Assembly that SOCU is being funded out of his ministry’s budget. Clive Thomas, an inmate of the Ministry of the Presidency, delivers a weekly sermon about the illegalities committed at Pradoville 2 and in the process, he convicts and executes those whom he finds guilty. Commissioner of Police, Mr. Seelall Persaud, is on record on numerous occasions, distancing himself from the operations of SOCU. Mr. David Ramnarine, acting as Commissioner of Police, at about 16:00 hours last Tuesday, disclaimed any knowledge of the arrests which took place by SOCU’s officers during the course of the day. I have seen no evidence whatsoever that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is advising on this matter. I am also aware that Police Legal Advisor, Justice Claudette Singh, has advised that there is not sufficient evidence to launch criminal proceedings. In addition to political directions, the only advice which seems to be fuelling these investigations, is from Sam Sittlington, who is, obviously, trying to earn his keep.
3. The Government has already made it clear that if or when these criminal charges are filed, they will be prosecuted by Special Prosecutors, whom the Government has already identified. Two are practicing out of Mr. Basil Williams’s former law office; two are practicing out of Mr. Joseph Harmon’s former law office; another one is the brother of a Minister of the Government; and another was on the APNU+AFC list of candidates which contested the 2015 General Elections. To compound this political incest, the Attorney General has boldly disclosed in the National Assembly during the 2017 Budget debates that one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) has been budgeted to hire Special Prosecutors to prosecute Pradoville 2. In this diabolic political plot, there is no role etched out for the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions which the Constitution invests with the exclusive mandate to prosecute criminal offenses.
In conclusion, the political air which the Pradoville 2 investigation exudes, can be detected a hundred miles away. I have advised that every arrest and consequent detention be legally challenged for compensation. The lawsuits should be filed against the officers and Mr. Sittlington and the State. Likewise, every criminal charge, whenever they come, will also be challenged. The law and the legal process must never be used as a political weapon, or an instrument of vendetta. Men must battle their personal and political grudges like men. They must not use the might of the State to do so. The charges will never survive the challenges. This political ploy will backfire. This much I promise.
Anil Nandlall

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