Why is Guyana of all places jailing Cubans?

Mar 05, 2019 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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I don’t mean any insult to religious people, but I believe one day, God is going to get annoyed with the oceanic tragedies and mountainous asininities of Guyana and strike this country down into the bottom of the Atlantic. A magistrate jailed a Cuban doctor and his wife for passport forgery. And who is this magistrate?
Let me tell you who this magistrate is. Her name is Ann McLennan. I have written more than eight, yes more than eight columns describing some worrying decisions by this magistrate. To list all eight with titles and date would eat into column space for this article here. I have written more than eighteen columns, (not eight), describing what a wasteland this country is. This very magistrate fined a woman for human trafficking when a conviction carries a mandatory jail term.
The Guyana Government reacted harshly to that decision as carried in a press statement which the Chronicle published with the headline; “Gov’t slams weak court decision in TIP case,” of September 8, 2016. I quoted from the Chronicle, and I am doing so again, right now; “The Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in People in a statement issued on Wednesday noted that both sentences were non-custodial, whereas the penalties in the legislation specify mandatory imprisonment.”
Nothing appeared subsequently in the press to inform the nation if the magistrate submitted an explanation or if the Judicial Service Commission requested a response from here. This judicial bewilderment occurred two years ago, Magistrate McLennan is still on the bench. This lady is still the Chief Magistrate.
Last week, Minister Khemraj Ramjattan addressed a meeting on a drug rehabilitation programme in which most of the leading magistrates were in the audience. Ramjattan told the gathering that in his experience as a prosecutor and defence counsel, he would caution against imposing prison sentences on drug accused, because they become hardened offenders when they come out.
I don’t know if Ramjattan was being diplomatic or he just couldn’t be bothered to direct a few remarks about egregious sentence disparities in the magistrate courts, heavy bail assignments on people who cannot afford it, and the willingness to jail people by most of the country’s sitting magistrates.
Once more, here is a column on a judgment by McLennan, a ruling by her, which I abhor. A Cuban doctor and his wife were jailed for twelve months (not one year – one year in sentencing guidelines is equivalent to nine months) for passport forgery. When I read that and I saw the photos of these two persons, how I wished I were younger to start a revolution in Guyana. Do the Cuban people leaving that island for a better life deserve this kind of attitude by Guyana?
Important to note is that they came here and did not commit murder or rape or burglary or perpetrate violent crimes. They forged passports so they could seek greener pastures for a better life. It is a criminal offence and they were rightfully charged. But did McLennan have to jail them? And for twelve months?
Businessman and gold magnate, Nazar Mohamed, popularly known as “Shell” has retained a lawyer to apply to the High Court for bail. I am keeping my fingers crossed, because I am not unmindful of the lack of quality among the judges of Guyana. When you read the affidavit in support of bail, it is mentally lacerating. The couple couldn’t speak English and the police interpreter is alleged to have told the couple if they pleaded guilty, they would not be jailed. But apparently, they never agreed to plead guilty.
When I hear how semi-civilized Guyana treats less fortunate souls fleeing hardships in other lands, I really believe it is time for a revolution in this banana republic. I have met countless Guyanese who fled this hell-hole, became illegal in other territories, and have done phenomenally well. When you hear the unbelievable tales of illegal Guyanese who became rich in the US and Canada, you will never accept our judicial system jailing fleeing Venezuelans and Cubans.
In the UK, the current Home Secretary (what we in the Caribbean call the Home Affairs Minister) who is a practising Muslim, came to the UK with his parents and siblings with only the clothes on their backs and two pounds. Look what position he holds today. You must have heard about the Booker Prize, a literary prize awarded in the UK. It has new financial sponsors of a husband and wife team. The husband said his Jewish parents fled Nazi Germany and people took them in as refugees. Look how rich those refugees’ child is today. Guyana must stop treating refugees with sadistic cruelty. But how can they? Guyanese have no sense of what humanity is.

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