Serving with unprecedented distinction… Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack, is a ‘Special Person’

Aug 18, 2019 News, Special Person

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”Throughout the years, I have worked hard and I was really elated because the president has recognised my work – the contribution that I have made to the State and to the people of Guyana – and it would have also been recognised by those who made the recommendation. I am very thankful for both those who made the recommendation, as well as the president, for making the appointment. I was elated that all my efforts were recognised and I will continue to do my best to serve the people of Guyana.”

By Sharmain Grainger

Women by design are nurturing beings, and this trait they can transcend to just about any facet of society. It is no wonder that women are able to excel even in areas that have been traditionally dominated by men, not only with grace, but with vibrancy and unprecedented passion.
A woman who has been able to execute these traits effortlessly in the public eye is Shalimar Ali-Hack. She is the Director of Public Prosecutions [DPP]. The office of the DPP is an independent one within the judicial system that is mandated to ensure that people are afforded justice in relation to the criminal justice system.

Although she is revered in her role of DPP, she is many things to others, such as a wife, sister, friend and boss. However, her first, foremost and most important role is to be a religious woman who seeks to put God first in her life, which ultimately influences everything else she does.
“I try to practice my religion to the best of my ability, fearing God and preparing for whenever He is ready for me, because we don’t know when our time will come and I must be able to say that I did what was right,” said Ali-Hack during a recent interview.In fact, she made it pellucid that although she has a mandate to act in accordance with the Constitution to charge, or not to charge, depending on the availability of evidence, what she does professionally is in conformity with her Muslim religion.
“No person should be wrongfully charged; so in upholding the Constitution, I do what my religion tells me to do, and so there is that marrying of the two, so to speak,” she explained.

 

This therefore means that the DPP, at no time, is permitted to embrace any biases – not race, religion or gender – when she sets about giving advice into any matter. Rather, she assured, her advice is entirely based on the evidence contained in the files that are brought to her office. She disclosed that there have even been cases from which she had opted to recuse herself in the interest of justice being served in an untainted manner.
Over her more than a dozen years of functioning in the capacity of DPP, Ali-Hack has had to advise on many cases, some of which have even brought her to tears because of their heinous nature. Those perpetrated against the young and innocent have been the most heart-rending. But her professionalism is never thwarted by her emotions, since guidance from the Supreme Being always influences her every decision. But as she avails herself to offer just and upright service, Ali-Hack confided that there are yet shortcomings in the system that can threaten to pervert the course of justice.
“One of the challenges we have in the system is making sure that there is sufficient evidence. Sometimes when files come here [DPP’s office], the investigations are not completed. Sometimes you may look at a file and you may feel this person has committed an offence, but in the file you don’t have the evidence, so the person cannot be charged, and there is nothing you can do about that,” she explained.

She added that, “ “There will always be instances where everyone may not agree with all of our decisions, but our duty, according to the Constitution, is if there is evidence, to charge, and if there is not sufficient evidence, not to charge.”
WIEDLING POWER
Although the DPP, according to the 1980 constitution, was appointed by the president, an amendment in 2002 has since seen the appointment being the duty of the Judicial Service Commission [JSC]. This move was premised on the need to ensure that the DPP’s office remains independent. Ali-Hack was the first DPP to be appointed by the JSC. She acted in the position from 2005 and was confirmed in 2008.
Vested with the power and responsibility of exercising control over the prosecution of all criminal and other matters with the exception of court-martial, the office of the DPP is critical to the administration of justice. A cursory glance at the role of office of the DPP on its website [www.dpp.gy] makes it clear that Ali-Hack’s work is by no means menial. Among the wide-ranging tasks performed by her office is to prefer indictments in the high court criminal sessions across the three counties.
The DPP must therefore ensure that, “During these criminal sessions, one or more state counsel are assigned to prosecute the cases listed to the heard by the Trial Judges; appear in the appellate and the full court in appeals in summary matters and all indictable charges in the high court; appear in the Magistrate’s Courts for a technical high profile matter and in extreme instances, where police prosecutors’ request assistance, appear in the high court in applications for bail, habeas corpus, or application to leave the jurisdiction and for extension of time to keep persons in custody pending police investigations; to provide the Guyana Police Force and law enforcement agencies with legal advice in the prosecution of criminal cases; to ensure no citizen is charged unjustly and to ensure that persons who break the law are charged and prosecuted according to the laws of Guyana.”
The forgoing makes it clear that because of the authority Ali-Hack wields at the helm of the DPP’s office, she is one of the most powerful constitutional office holders of the land, and she certainly doesn’t take this lightly.
Acknowledging that she has an important portfolio, Ali-Hack said, “I take it very seriously, and that is why I always try to ensure that as long as files come here for legal advice, a person is not charged unless there is sufficient evidence, and if there is not sufficient evidence then that person is not to be charged…I always seek to make decisions in the interest of justice.”
FORMATIVE YEARS
But exactly how was this humble and down-to-earth woman thrust into the realm of the criminal justice system? A simple answer could be that it was a destined trait long embedded in her lineage. She confessed that on her paternal side of the family, there have been quite a few who opted to be a part of the legal field, dating back generations. She intimated it might have been because her father was unable to complete his own legal studies that he unwaveringly supported her to ensure that she completed hers.
Born on Thursday, October 29, 1964, to parents Mohamed Ali and Lorine Ali nee Branco, she was the eldest of six children. Her upbringing was in East Street, Georgetown in a two-storey colonial-style home. Her father, a Muslim, was the owner of a butchery and her mother, a staunch Catholic, ahead of marriage, taught at Stella Maris School, which was managed by the Convent.
Reflecting on her parents and resulting heritage, a smiling Ali-Hack, proudly asserted, “I am a true Guyanese…my mother was Portuguese and Black and my father was Chinese and Indian…And they were from two of the country’s main religions, and they loved me very much.”
As she reminisced on her upbringing, she recalled, “Georgetown was a beautiful place; it was truly a Garden City with well-kept parapets, pruned trees and gardens, and you had a lot of colonial buildings…”
Considering the changing times, she added, “The city is different now, those buildings are almost all gone and Georgetown has a different look. This is not the Georgetown I grew up in.”
But as she turned her attention to her academics, she recalled that after completing her CXC and GCE O’ Levels, she commenced studies at the University of Guyana. In fact, she even recalled being exposed to the Guyana National Service and for the first time got an appreciation for “dorm life”. She spoke too of being able to benefit from a government scholarship to pursue her law studies.
After completing the first year of Sociology at the University of Guyana, she transferred to the LLB programme there, and then went on to continue her studies in Barbados, before heading to the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad.
ABOSULTE DISTINCTION
Returning in 1990 qualified as a legal professional and bursting with enthusiasm to practice, Ali-Hack recalled being placed at the DPP’s office to complete her mandatory five-year contractual obligation with the government.
At the time, the DPP was George Jackman, S.C. and Ali-Hack disclosed, “I learnt a lot from him. He was not just a lawyer, he was a teacher. He taught us…I can say for all of us who came in here, we can all reflect on him as being a teacher to us, and as a matter of fact, I have tried to maintain the system that he had with young lawyers,” Ali-Hack shared. She has similarly mentored many young lawyers over the years.
Recounting her entry into the DPP’s office, Ali-Hack recalled that it was two years shy of the 1988 Narcotics Act, which was in fact, a new area of law, and so the knowledge she gained from Jackman was well utilised in carrying out her duties with absolute distinction.
Calling to mind her evolution in the legal field, she remembered how back in 1995 she appeared in the Demerara Assizes -January, April and June – before then Chief Justice Cecil Kennard, and had the record performance of being able to secure convictions in all of the 25 or more cases presented.
One of these cases was the State versus Allison St. Hill for the offence of Trafficking in Narcotics, for which she also appeared at the Preliminary Inquiry. This was in fact the first and only narcotics case which was done at the High Court before a Judge and Jury, and for which there was a conviction and an appeal that was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
Over the years, she also had the privilege of presenting more than 100 cases in the High Court Assizes, among them the infamous cases of Oral Hendricks, who had taken his three step-children from Supply on the East Bank Demerara to the back of Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara, and murdered them, and that of Michael Cozier who had murdered his daughter and dumped her body on Sussex Street, Charlestown, during the dead of the night.
Ali-Hack’s successes as a legal luminary are far too many to be absorbed in these pages, but her outstanding reputation has paved the way for her to stand out among her peers, so much so, that she was earlier this year conferred with silk.
“Throughout the years, I have worked hard and I was really elated because the president has recognised my work – the contribution that I have made to the State and to the people of Guyana – and it would have also been recognised by those who made the recommendation. I am very thankful for both those who made the recommendation, as well as the president, for making the appointment. I was elated that all my efforts were recognised and I will continue to do my best to serve the people of Guyana,” said Ali-Hack of this honour.
NO REGRETS
Ali-Hack has no regrets that she has remained committed to her work in the Office of the DPP, as throughout the years she has been able to accomplish many firsts in the land of her birth including: becoming the first Muslim lawyer to become Senior Counsel, the first Muslim woman to be allowed to practice in full Muslim traditional garb and the first Muslim woman to be appointed DPP.
“I came back intending to serve for five years, but it has now been 29 years…I always say that everything always happens by the will of God and only He knows how long I will continue to serve,” she added.
Aside from offering her service to the State, Ali-Hack, whose husband is Sheik Moeenul Hack of the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana [CIOG], has remained committed to her religious commitments. This has seen her travelling the length and breadth of Guyana seeking to educate Muslim women and girls on their religious roles and on the laws of the land as well. She has also been doing this through the Gender and Equality Commission, on which she sits as a Commissioner.
As she reflected on the many tasks she handles, both as a professional and religious stalwart, Ali-Hack made it clear, “I am thankful for all the supportive people I have around me, because there is no way I can do it alone.”
For remaining dedicated and humble as she helps to dispense justice in an upright manner, today we at Kaieteur News recognise, DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack as our ‘Special Person’ of the week.

 

 

 

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