A failed justice and child protection system

Jul 12, 2023 Letters

Dear Editor,

An independent impartial investigation must be held as soon as possible into the events surrounding the alleged grooming and rape of a 16-year-old Indigenous child by Nigel Dharamlall while as Minister of Local Government and a Member of Parliament for the People’s Progressive Government (PPP).

The President of Guyana, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), the Guyana Police Force, the Child Care and Protection Agency (CPA) and the Minister in the Ministry of Human Services must answer these questions.

Why was a young 14-year-old Indigenous teenager arrested, placed before the court, charged with 20 counts of murder, placed in juvenile detention yet proof of investigations consistent with the charge of murder was not and could not be presented in court by the prosecution when the case was called up?

Why was this different when a 40-year-old Minister of Government and PPP MP accused of grooming and rape of a 16 year old Indigenous child was not arrested but presented himself to the Brickdam Police Station and in the presence of his lawyer became arrested and in doing so immediately placed on $1M bail at the police station, not placed before the court and no charges laid even though there was a detailed and compelling statement given through Child Advocacy Centre (CAC) forensic interview(s) and available to not only the police but the DPP for charges to be laid.

The reasons point to a failed justice system and a broken child protection system which exposed what Guyanese have known for years – it is not what the crime is, but who is the accused and who are the victims and survivors. During the course of Guyana’s independence and becoming a republic, there has never been any politician who has faced jail time for crimes committed be it major crimes or crimes of corruption and fraud, yet in countless other countries of the world former presidents, prime ministers, senior politicians and public servants are investigated, charged, placed before the courts, found guilty and sentenced accordingly.

As we see clearly in comparing these two cases, the police procedures and protocols and DPP procedures and protocols used were inconsistent. So can the DPP, CPA and GPF inform Guyanese what are the procedures and SOPs when it comes to major crimes of rape and murder. These procedures and SOPs must stand up to scrutiny and transparency. What parades as confidentiality often in Guyana is not confidentiality but secrecy and we know injustice thrives in an environment of secrecy. There needs to be an overhaul of these systems as they have failed these two young Indigenous children and fail and have failed countless of other Guyanese of all ages, ethnicities, economic status and residency. These cases of these 2 Indigenous children have engendered horror and consternation throughout Guyana. Can every mother, father, guardian and child rest easy when the injustices, incompetence and discrimination of our criminal justice systems are exposed and laid bare. The officials who are saying the justice system worked are very wrong and are either uninformed, unconcerned or benefit from the failed status quo and it does not matter how many laws are passed if there is corruption, lack of accountability, lack of full and impartial implementation and consistency. Why has it taken 13 years after the passing of Guyana’s Sexual Offences Act 2020 for the Ministry of Education to have in place a policy for addressing sexual violence in schools. This state of affairs cannot continue as is, we as a country cannot keep failing our most precious resource, our children, and failing them we are!!!

Yours truly,

Danuta Radzik

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Child Advocacy Centre (CAC), Danuta Radzik, Guyana Police Force, local, the Child Care and Protection Agency (CPA)

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