Two days into election fraud trial defence raises conflict of interest regarding prosecutor

Feb 20, 2025 News

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Kaieteur News – The trial into the 2020 election fraud case officially resumed on Monday before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

The defendants in the case include: former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield; former Returning Officer for District Four Clairmont Mingo; former Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers; former Minister of Health Volda Lawrence; APNU+AFC’s Chief Scrutineer Carol Smith Joseph and former GECOM employees: Sheffern February, Enrique Liven, Michelle Miller, and Denise Babb-Cummings.

The charges allege that between March 2 and August 2, 2020, the accused conspired to manipulate the results of the 2020 elections at the Ashmins’ Building in Georgetown, defrauding the electors of Guyana.

The defence attorneys include: Nigel Hughes, Eusi Anderson, Darren Wade and Ronald Daniels. The prosecution includes Special Prosecutor Dharshan Ramdhani KC (King’s Counsel), Latchmie Rahamat and Thomas Astaphan KC (Kings Council).

Two days into the trial, the defence raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest involving the lead prosecutor, Latchmi Rahamat. Defence attorneys Anderson and Wade argued that Rahamat had been involved in the investigation process concerning two of the defendants who were facing two separate criminal matters.

The allegations stemmed from Rahamat’s admission in court that she had previously advised one of the defence lawyers, Dexter Todd, regarding two private criminal charges filed against some of the defendants. She confirmed that she had been instructed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) that the charges no longer existed and should have been disclosed to the court in August 2020. Todd denied that he was involved in any further proceeding after giving the advice.  He said that he was requested to give advice on the private criminal matter but never prosecuted the matter.

In her defense, Rahamat assured the court that she had not been involved in the investigation and that only the police were handling it, stating, “I do not hold the title of the police.”  However, the defence continued to question her ability to prosecute the case given her involvement and relationship with the police force, noting that her husband is a chief member of the Guyana Police Force.

Despite these concerns, Magistrate McGusty ruled that, at this stage, she saw no reason to remove Rahamat from the case, unless further instructions were provided.

These concerns came during the testimony from the first witness, former election observer Rosalinda Rasul, who described the events she witnessed during the tabulation process at Ashmins’ Building.  Her testimonies were heard on Tuesday and concluded on Wednesday.

She testified that around 3:00 AM on March 5, 2020, she observed party agents expressing concerns about a spreadsheet that appeared to have been tampered with. Rasul recalled hearing party agents demanding to see various totals on the spreadsheet, as discrepancies between the numbers on the screen and those in the agents’ possession led to frustration.

Rasul also described a chaotic scene when party agents raised objections about the results. She stated that GECOM employees, including Denise Babb-Cummings, were seen reading numbers from a document rapidly. Rasul testified that Babb-Cummings’ figures for the APNU+AFC were higher than those on the spreadsheet shown to her.

During Rasul’s testimony the defence argued that Rasul’s testimony was inconsistent with her written statement submitted to the court four years prior. Anderson on Wednesday further challenged the credibility of the witness, stating that her testimony contradicted her initial statement and accused her of fabricating new details. He argued that this undermines the fairness of the trial.

Prosecutors responded by asserting that witnesses are allowed to elaborate on their statements and provide further details, as long as their recollections remain consistent with the original evidence. Magistrate McGusty, while noting the concerns, allowed Rasul to finish her testimony. After her testimony,  Magistrate McGusty allowed Rasul to be crossed examined by the defendants.  Attorney Hughes conducted the cross examination.

During cross-examination, Hughes questioned Rasul about whether she had submitted a report knowing that it might contain false information. Rasul acknowledged that she had submitted her report even though some of the information might have been inaccurate. Hughes also asked her whether she had reviewed her statement several times, to which she confirmed that she had reviewed it about 15 times, and noted that she had requested additional information be added but it was not included.

When the trial resumed on Monday the defendants were asked to enter a plea after the charges were read to them. The charges, which include conspiracy to defraud, forgery, and misconduct in public office, amounted to 19 charges related to the March 2020 General and Regional Elections. All defendants pleaded not guilty to their respective charges. During the court proceedings, Magistrate McGusty confirmed that all statements in the matter had been disclosed, allowing the case to proceed.

(Two days into election fraud trial defence raises conflict of interest regarding prosecutor)

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• 2020 Elections, Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty, Chief Elections Officer, Guyana Elections Commission, trial

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