2020 elections fraud trial: Court hears details of mysterious flash drive, bomb threat, door kickdown

A mysterious flash drive incident, an alleged breach of police barricades, and the dramatic kicking down of the GECOM Chair’s office door, all unfolded in testimony Wednesday as two key witnesses gave accounts of the chaos that gripped Guyana’s 2020 elections, during the continuing fraud trial at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

On Wednesday, former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Edgar Thomas, recounted a suspicious incident involving a flash drive during the Region Four vote tabulation on March 5, 2020. Thomas, who served at the time as the Regional Commander for Division 4A (Georgetown), became the fourth witness to take the stand in the case.
He told the court that in the early hours of that morning, around 01:40h, he received troubling reports from his ranks stationed at the Ashmins Building, the Region Four tabulation center. According to his officers, a man was seen removing a flash drive from the main tabulation area and entering a side room with a computer.
Thomas said he immediately responded and, accompanied by Constable Julius Reitz and other ranks, located the individual, identified as GECOM Information Technology Technician, Enrique Livan, inside a room on the lower flat. Livan was reportedly bent over a laptop with the flash drive still in his hand.
“He claimed he was tired and went in there to rest,” Thomas testified. “But the fact that he had the flash drive and was on a laptop raised serious concerns, especially given the circumstances.”
Thomas said that while still at the scene, he heard the then Opposition MP Dr. Frank Anthony accuse Livan of tampering with election data, though Anthony was not in the room at the time. Thomas, who had known Dr Anthony, described the moment as tense and filled with suspicion.
He testified that he attempted to contact the then Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield for clarity on Livan’s authority. When Lowenfield answered, he reportedly responded, “another problem again,” but gave no clear instructions.
Later that morning, amid mounting concern, observers and party officials suggested that the data on Livan’s laptop be displayed on the large screen in the tabulation center for transparency. Thomas said he entered the room and saw two folders projected on the screen, but could not determine what files were inside.
Soon after, Lowenfield presented a printed copy of the displayed data but expressed exhaustion and requested to leave. Thomas said he personally escorted him home.

Bomb threat
The courtroom also heard that later that same morning, around 09:50h, a bomb threat was reported at the Ashmins Building. Thomas said he responded to the scene and ordered everyone to evacuate. However, many refused, including election observers, who told him they did not believe the threat was credible and preferred to stay.
“About an hour later, we were informed that there was no bomb,” he told the court, adding that a trace of the call revealed it originated from a residence in East La Penitence. Thomas said the caller turned out to be the nephew of a former Deputy Permanent Secretary, who later approached him requesting bail for her nephew. It was granted.

Door kickdown
Before Thomas took the stand, the court heard from another notable witness, Kian Jabour, executive member of A New and United Guyana (ANUG), who was the third witness in the trial and recounted his own actions during the chaotic events of March 2020.
Jabour testified about breaching police barricades and entering the third floor of the Ashmins Building, where the Office of the Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was located.

He said he pushed past two police officers; despite knowing he had no legal right to do so, in a desperate attempt to speak with the Chair about what he called a “wrongful declaration” of votes by Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo.
“I felt democracy was under threat, and time was of the essence,” Jabour said, noting that he was accompanied by several PPP/C officials, including now President Irfaan Ali.
Once on the third floor, Jabour said the group demanded entry into the GECOM Chair’s office, and when the door was not opened, “entrance was achieved”, a phrase that under cross-examination was revealed to mean that the door had been forcibly kicked open.

“I did not physically kick the door down,” Jabour later clarified. But when pressed by Defense Attorney Nigel Hughes, who cited repeated statements Jabour had made to the contrary, Jabour admitted to breaching police orders.
“I knew the police’s instructions should be obeyed, but I went past them anyway,” he said.
Despite the confrontation and chaos, Jabour conceded that he never presented any formal letter of protest to the Chair, nor did he speak with her directly after forcing entry into her office.
Wednesday’s hearing followed the testimony of Local Government Minister Sonia Parag, who appeared on Tuesday as the second witness in the case. Parag gave a detailed account of inflated vote figures and tabulation irregularities at the same Ashmins Building, including her objection to results being read from a spreadsheet rather than official SOPs.
Nine individuals are currently facing charges for conspiracy to commit electoral fraud, including former government minister Volda Lawrence, former GECOM CEO Keith Lowenfield, Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers, and Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo.
The trial resumes Thursday, with more witnesses expected to take the stand as prosecutors continue to unravel what transpired during the fateful days following the March 2, 2020, polls.