CJIA’s deputy chief to be charged indictably with sexual assault

Aug 15, 2019 News

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has advised that a senior manager of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) be charged with a sex crime.

To be charged: CJIA’s Deputy CEO, Andre Kellman

Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Andre Kellman, who is second in command and in charge of operations at the that state-owned facility, will appear in a court before a magistrate within days.
The case which has been in the news since June has brought the issue of workplace harassment sharply into focus.
Yesterday, the DPP in response to a request for an update on the file, said that the police have been advised to lay a charge of sexual assault.
“Please be advised that the police file for “Alleged Sexual Assault committed by Andre Kellman on ***** ********** at the CJIA,” has been returned to the Guyana Police Force. Based on the evidence contained therein, legal advice has been given for the charge of Sexual Assault to be instituted against the accused Andre Kellman,” the DPP said.
The advice would come days after the alleged victim, a supervisor of a business which has a concession at the airport, complained that she is in limbo with her job with little word on the investigations.
In June, the woman alleged that she was held and kissed twice in the office of the manager when she visited him last year.
The supervisor claimed that she visited the office of Kellman, a long-serving employee, to ask his help in removing the wheel clamps on her employer’s vehicles.
The vehicle had been left overnight in the parking lot of the airport.
While in the office, the woman said she was blocked from leaving and kissed twice without her permission.
She claimed she did not have that level of relations with the manager.
The supervisor reported the matter the next day to CEO, Ramesh Ghir who she said promised to probe the matter.
However, for several months there was no word despite her queries.
It was some time in June that after demanding a response, that she was told by an official of the Human Resources Department that the matter had been resolved.
She was not told how.
She later complained to the police and the media.
Days later, she was ejected from the airport and had her security passes revoked.
Kellman was sent on leave but resumed work after.
The airport’s handling of the matter had come under fire with the board of directors later making it clear that it does not tolerate workers’ victimization.
The board also said that it has ordered a review and update of CJIA’s protocols on how to better deal with issues like this.