WPA registers its protest against DPP’s decision

May 22, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

The Working People’s Alliance registers its protest against the decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to discontinue the private charge brought by Shawnette Bollers against Nirvan Singh. Ms. Bollers has accused Singh of racist verbal abuse and spitting on her while she was on guard duty at his family home. There are no ordinary accusations. Yet the police to date have not brought charges against the accused. It is in the absence of police action that Ms. Bollers private charge assumes importance.
Against this background, WPA views the DPP’s action as a wanton abuse of power that sends an ominous signal to the society at large. It is tantamount to the use of institutional power to condone racism. On a matter that is so socio-politically sensitive and so central to the stability of our country, the DPP has come down of the side of the accused rather than the accuser.
This is the kind of activism from the DPP’s chambers that potentially rocks confidence in the Justice system. The role of the DPP is not to act as judge and jury as this decision suggests. The role of the DPP is not to stand in the way of justice, but to facilitate justice. At the very least, she should have allowed the accused to have his day in court to defend himself against the accusations. Even if Ms. Bollers’ charges appear unsubstantiated, let the courts decide. It is too sensitive a matter to be determined by a single individual.
The DPP’s discontinuation of the charge denies Ms. Bollers an opportunity for justice and equal protection before the law. The DPP protects Nirvan Singh’s right while denying Ms. Bollers the same right—she is in effect saying that the two citizens are not equal before the law. The decision also says that the burden of proof even for bringing a charge on alleged racism rests with the accuser. By raising the bar for bringing charges so high, she in effect facilitates racial abuse. This is a new development in Guyana that smacks of racism or the protection of racism in high places.
When one adds the refusal of the police to act to this summary decision by the DPP, Ms. Bollers civil rights have been violated by the very State that is charged with protecting those rights. WPA therefore supports Ms. Bollers’ lawyer’s decision to seek judicial review of this action by the DPP. However, more importantly, the time has come to legislatively reduce the totalitarian powers of the DPP. It is an anti-democratic institution that has no place in a modern democracy. It must be reminded that only recently, the CCJ had cause to cite the gross over-reach of this officer in the Bisram case.
Finally, the WPA feels that even as the court reviews this decision, justice for Ms. Bollers cannot await the sloth of the judicial process. This decision is yet another alert that Guyana, under the current regime, is moving swiftly down the road of totalitarianism. Guyanese must stop this descent sooner rather than later.

Working People’s Alliance

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