DPP exercised her power to discontinue charges 

Jul 09, 2023 News

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Court Journal…

By Renay Sambach

Kaieteur News – For the past 15 years, Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, has been serving as Guyana’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).  Ali-Hack plays a vital role in the administration of justice in criminal cases or matters. The DPP is the sole authority vested with the power and responsibility to exercise control over the prosecution of all criminal matters except the institution of a court‐martial.

In this article, I will highlight some matters where the DPP exercised the powers conferred on her by Article 187 (1) (c) of the Constitution of Guyana.

According to Article 187:1: “The Director of Public Prosecutions (referred to in this article as ‘the Director’) shall have power in any case in which he or she considers it desirable to do so – (a) to institute and undertake criminal proceedings against any person before any court, other than a court martial, in respect of any offence against the law of Guyana; (b) to take over and continue any such criminal proceedings that may have been instituted by any other person or authority; and (c) to discontinue at any stage before judgment is delivered any such criminal proceedings instituted or undertaken by him or her or any other person or authority.”

Last year, the DPP discontinued the charge against Attorney-at-Law, Nirvan Singh, son of former Chancellor of the Judiciary, Carl Singh, who was charged for using racial slurs towards an Afro-Guyanese policewoman who was tasked with guarding his residence.

On Wednesday May 18, 2022, the charge was formally discontinued against Nirvan Singh. In April, 2022, he made his first court appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before former Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan.

It was alleged that Singh unlawfully excited and or attempted to excite racial hostility or ill-will against police constable Shawnette Bollers. Singh had pleaded not guilty to the charge, which stated that on March 20, 2022 at the corner of Middle and Cummings Streets, Georgetown, by means of words spoken by him in a public place, he willfully excited and or attempted to excite hostility and ill-will against Bollers on the ground of her race as an Afro-Guyanese by using words directed to her and published by him, to wit: “black monkey”, “monkey”, “black people have no purpose in life”, contrary to the provisions of Section 2 (1) Racial Hostility Act Cap 23:0).

Then Chief Magistrate McLennan had granted bail in the sum of $100,000 and ordered the lawyer not to make contact or cause anyone to make contact with Bollers. The matter was then adjourned.

On the following hearing, the matter was called before Acting Chief Magistrate, Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. However, instead of the matter continuing, the magistrate received a letter from the DPP which stated that in exercise of the powers conferred on her by Article 187 (1) (c), “I hereby discontinue the charge in the above matter.”

As such, the matter against Attorney-at-Law Singh was dismissed.

In 2020, just five days after three private criminal charges were filed against the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Retired Justice Claudette Singh, alleging misconduct in public office, the DPP discontinued the charges.

A letter, which the Director sent to the former Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, stated, “In exercise of the powers conferred on me by Article 187 (1) (c) of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, I hereby discontinue the charge in the above matter.”

The complainants that filed the charges against the GECOM Chair were Lorraine Joseph of 16 Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara, Onita Walcott of 25 Section B, Victoria Village, East Coast Demerara and Keith Ondaan of 2987 Central Amelia’s Ward , McKenzie Linden. The three charges were filed under the Common Law Act, alleging that the GECOM Chair in the State of Guyana acted recklessly and unlawfully when she refused to accept the CEO’s report, disregarded the advice of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, and breached the Recount Order in the Official Gazette.

The first charge, filed by Walcott, states that Claudette Singh, being appointed and performing duties of Chairman of GECOM, at Lot 41 High and Cowan Streets, Kingston, Georgetown, between March 14, 2020, and June 23, 2020, acted recklessly and unlawfully when she refused to accept the CEO’s report on the March 2, 2020 Regional and General Elections.

The second charge, filed by Ondaan, states that Claudette Singh, being appointed and performing duties of Chairman of GECOM, acted recklessly and unlawfully when she disregarded the advice of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel Mr. Charles Fung-A-Fat, SC, on May 17, 2020 and knowingly caused the Gazetting of Recount Order in the Official Gazette on May 4, 2020, and an Amended Recount Order on May 29, 2020. Fung-A-Fat had advised the AG earlier in the year that a recount of the votes of the March 2, 2020 Regional and General Elections would be unlawful and unconstitutional.

The final charge, filed by Joseph, is that Claudette Singh, being appointed and performing duties of Chairman of GECOM, acted recklessly and unlawfully between May 29, 2020 and June 23, 2020, when she breached the Recount Order gazetted in the Official Gazette on May 4, 2020, and amended Recount Order on May 29, 2020. The charges, however, were never served on the GECOM Chair, thanks to the DPP.

Meanwhile, in October 2020, the charges against Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, SC, that alleged the theft of law books was discontinued.

The charges were discontinued following a letter from the DPP to Magistrate Fabayo Azore in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Nandlall had denied the charges which alleged that between May 18, 2015 and May 29, 2015 while being a bailee, in his then capacity as Attorney General, he fraudulently converted 14 Commonwealth Law Reports valued at $2,313,853, property of the Ministry of Legal Affairs, to his own use and benefit.

The charges were instituted against Nandlall in 2017 by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), an arm of the Guyana Police Force.

Magistrate Azore in 2019 ruled that there is sufficient evidence against Nandlall for him to answer to the charges. Nandlall then approached the Court of Appeal, to request a judicial review of a decision by Magistrate Azore to overrule a no-case submission in his trial for the alleged theft of Law Reports.

The Appeal Court in its ruling had said that it will not intervene in the matter as the trial is already underway. However, earlier in 2020, Nandlall moved to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to overturn the Court of Appeal’s ruling.

Nandlall was previously reported as saying that when he took up the post as Attorney General, he did so at a loss and it was for that reason he agitated for the State to pay for the Law Reports.
He had said that the arrangement received the blessings of then Head of State, Donald Ramotar. However, SOCU investigators had contended that because the books were bought with State funds, they cannot be the property of Nandlall, and in fact, the State should not have entered into such an arrangement in the first place.

Moreover, in April 2018, the DPP discontinued the charges against then Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, and then Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Norton.

Using her authority under Article 187 (1) (c) of Guyana’s Constitution, the DPP noted that the charges concerned a grave issue under the criminal law in relation to two serving Ministers.

A week prior to the charges being discontinued, PPP/C Parliamentarians Juan Edghill and Vickram Bharrat, through Nandlall, had moved to file private criminal charges against the two ministers for “misconduct in public office contrary to the common law”.

According to court filings, Norton, in June 2016, while serving as Minister of Public Health, authorised the rental of a Sussex Street, Albouystown property for the purposes of a drug bond, from Linden Holdings Incorporated for $12.5M per month.

Norton had come under immense public pressure. He was part of a Cabinet reshuffle that saw him being reassigned to the post of Minister of Social Cohesion. He subsequently received the additional appointment as Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport.

Lawrence, who was appointed Public Health Minister, was accused of the unapproved single-sourcing of $605.9M in drugs and medical supplies from Ansa McAl Trading Ltd. for the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) between January and February, 2017.

The charges against the two former ministers came exactly one week after identical charges were filed by SOCU against Dr. Ashni Singh, Minister of Finance, and Winston Brassington, former head of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) under the PPP/C regime.

 

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• Carl Singh, Nirvan Singh, Shawnette Bollers, son of former Chancellor of the Judiciary

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