Latest update February 10th, 2025 2:25 PM
AFC pushing for police report into Broomes parking lot fiasco
The Alliance For Change (AFC), the smaller faction in the coalition government, wants police to expedite their investigation into the July 8th parking lot incident involving Junior Minister of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, her driver and two security guards.
Party Leader, Raphael Trotman told Kaieteur News that he has inquired about the delay in the police report from Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan.
Investigators have taken statements as part of their probe into the incident which stemmed from the decision by the guards not to allow the minister to park in a restricted area in the Amazonia Mall parking lot.
The minister was said to be on her way to the New Thriving Chinese Restaurant which is housed in the upper floors of the building.
The photo released by Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID) President Rickford Burke yesterday that purportedly shows Minister Broomes (right) and her driver (third from right) at the Brickdam Police Station.
Trotman said that the AFC has been deliberate in not commenting on the incident and will await the police report before doing so.
“We have taken the decision to await the police report which we have been informed is imminent and we are pushing for that report to come in. We now recognize that it is one of our own in terms of a coalition minister who is caught up in this and so one has to be deliberate and judicious when one goes out to make a statement,” Trotman said.
In her initial report on the incident, the minister indicated that one of the guards ‘cocked’ his gun and pointed it at her. A police media report stated that a thorough investigation had been launched following allegations of abuse and threats against a minister of the Government and her driver.
The guards who are attached to KGM Security Firm were detained by police for some 16 hours and were released on their own recognizance without charges being laid.
CCTV footage of the incident released by the establishment provided additional information as to what transpired in the parking lot.
Broomes, who is the recipient of a Global Peace Award from iChange Nations (ICN), could be seen in the footage exiting her vehicle and tossing down the signs after her driver was prevented from parking in the location.
Robert Goodluck, the guard accused of pointing his gun at the minister, has denied the Minister’s version of the incident. Josh Ramroop, the other guard, has since received an apology from Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence.
Broomes has received widespread condemnation for her actions while her Government colleagues have withheld statements until the police complete their report. Last week, investigators were unable to get a confrontation between the two sides, which is a standard process.
Yesterday, Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID) President Rickford Burke released a photo of the Minister and her driver at the Brickdam Police Station, an indication that they were ready for the confrontation.
However, the security guards have indicated that investigators have communicated with their lawyer that the confrontation will be held with the minister’s driver and not the minister. According to the guards, they were advised by their lawyer not to attend the confrontation if the minister was not part of it.
Apart from her initial comments to the media, Broomes has remained silent since the CCTV fotage surfaced.
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