Paul Slowe had an axe to grind – Jagdeo

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo believes his party has been vindicated when it predicted that the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into a two-year-old assassination claim allegedly directed against Head of State David Granger had sinister motives. According to Jagdeo, it has now been revealed that the coalition affiliated Paul Slowe, in fact already had an axe to grind since he is an aggrieved party.
Jagdeo made his views known on Tuesday when he addressed members of the local press corps at his party’s Freedom House headquarters.
According to the Opposition Leader, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had warned of the sinister motives behind the establishment of that CoI at a time when the country was facing its largest crisis ever with regards the prison system. He was at the time referring to the fire which completely gutted the Georgetown Prison – a situation compounded by the escaped prisoners; some of whom are still on the run, including Royden Williams, charged in relation to the Bartica massacre.
Jagdeo told reporters, “we see the motive being revealed… we warned of it. It had to do with destroying the career path of many existing officers.”
The Opposition Leader pointed to the reports in the State media with regards the recommendations that emanated from that report, which was somehow mysteriously leaked from the State to the State-owned and controlled newspaper.
Jagdeo in pointing to the motives behind the CoI and the purported leaks to the State-owned media, said it was all a ploy to besmirch existing officers in the Guyana Police Force in order to replace them.
The Opposition Leader said “we pointed out that that might be the ulterior motive and today they just confirmed…the Government has confirmed that that is so,” as he pointed to the three days of running coverage in the Guyana Chronicle which has lambasted the most senior ranks of the Guyana Police Force, Commissioner Seelall Persaud, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum and David Ramnarine among others.
Jagdeo used the opportunity to also trade barbs with the Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, saying “despite the crocodile tears (being) shed by Ramjattan, how he is so concerned about the leak, imagine a Vice President of this country can’t tell you how the leak took place… they could have easily said to Chronicle don’t carry this because it’s going to destroy the career of officers.”
Turning his attention to the CoI Chairman – former Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Paul Slowe – the Opposition Leader drew reference to a weekly column penned by veteran Journalist and Editor-in-Chief, Adam Harris, who in an article on Sunday noted that “Paul Slowe had an axe to grind with the PPP Government and Paul Slow is acting on the basis of a vendetta.”
Jagdeo told reporters assembled at Freedom House that had President Granger been serious about an investigation into the alleged plot against him, “he should not have appointed Paul Slowe to head it, cause Paul Slow has bad blood with many people in there, he is an aggrieved part as Adam Harris himself on Sunday (last) pointed out.”
Jagdeo used the opportunity to criticise the former Assistant Police Commissioner, observing that Slowe had in fact served as part of the coalition’s campaign team in the last General Election held in May 2015.
“He was put there to do a hatched job on the leadership of the Police Force, destroying professionalism,” Jagdeo said.
He drew reference again to the recollections of the veteran journalist, who had documented that the then ACP Slowe, was in fact unhappy over his transfer under the past regime, to the point where he had approached the courts.
The Paul Slowe-chaired Commission of Inquiry was ordered by President Granger after an East Bank Demerara man, Andriff Gillard, reported to the Police that his friend and neighbor, Nizam Khan, offered him $7 million to assassinate the President.
The state newspaper, under the direct responsibility of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, has since reported that the report recommends that substantive Police Commissioner, Seelall Persaud, should be forced to resign or be removed if he refused.