CoI denies Crime Chief’s request to challenge Ramnarine’s testimony

Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, on Wednesday wrote to the Commission of Inquiry, investigating the Police Investigation into the alleged plot to assassinate President David Granger, seeking the opportunity be recalled giving evidence to dispute statements made by acting Police Commissioner, David Ramnarine, while

under oath. However, CoI Commissioner Paul Slowe denied that request.

When Assistant Police Commissioner, Ramnarine, took the stand on July 28 he told the Commission of Inquiry that Blanhum indicated he placed Nizam Khan, the man who allegedly offered his neighbour $7M to kill the president, on bail following a briefing on the morning of March 30 at around 05:30hrs.

He also told that inquiry that he later learnt that Blanhum misled him and that it was substantive Police Commissioner, Seelall Persaud, who ordered the release.

In his letter, Blanhum denied briefing Ramnarine on the said date and time.

“I never gave any instructions to grant station bail to Nizam Khan, Imran Khan or Andriff Gillard. Further, at no time did I brief Assistant Commissioner David Ramnarine on the status of this investigation at 05:30 hours on the 30th March and I never told him that I granted bail to Nizam Khan because at 05:30 hours on the said date, I had no knowledge that Nizam Khan was placed on station bail. I maintain that I was only informed that Nizam Khan was placed on station bail at about 08:30 hours when Assistant Superintendent of Police Mitchell Caesar

briefed me at my morning meeting,” Blanhum wrote.

He noted that he finds it appalling that despite Inspector Prem Narine, ASP Caesar and Commissioner Persaud testifying otherwise, Ramnarine would testify otherwise.

“I would therefore respectfully request that I be given an opportunity to be recalled to give sworn evidence before the Commission of Inquiry to address this issue,” Blanhum concluded.

Attorney Glen Hanoman, who represents the interest of Commissioner Persaud in the CoI, said that he is of the view that the Crime Chief is trying to invoke the ‘Salmon Letter’ proceedings. The salmon letters are official letters sent out by a public inquiry to people that will be subject to criticism when that inquiry’s report is released. The aim of the letter is to give the person a chance to prepare for the resultant exposure and possible legal recourse, which may need to be taken when allegations against them become public.

The CoI seeks to: inquire into persons, places, time and circumstances and events by and through which allegations and reports came to be made of an intention to assassinate the President; investigate the full range of the actions and responses of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to the reports and the extent to which such actions were conducted or executed with due diligence; determine whether any person, and in particular, officers of the GPF had information before and after reports were made of a plan to assassinate the President and whether any such officers communicated that information to a superior authority.

Commissioners will also record and report on what official action was taken on the basis of the information received and whether there was due diligence by the officers of the GPF in the investigation of the plan to assassinate the President

and determine whether there was failure, neglect or omission to thoroughly and properly investigate the plan to assassinate the President and determine whether such failure or omission was intentional.

The Commissioners will seek to also determine the blameworthiness for the failure or neglect of officers or persons involved in the investigation and recommend action to be taken against persons found to be blameworthy. They will also recommend steps that can be taken to prevent the recurrence of such incident and identify systemic issues, if any, in the GPF’s competence to investigate matters of this nature.

The very ToRs led the Crime Chief to dispatching the letter.