Commission found “deliberate” poor investigation

Assassination claim CoI

…as Ramjattan disagrees with some of Slowe’s findings

By Lakhram Bhagirat

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan on Friday said he has fundamental differences of opinion in relation to the findings of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the alleged plot to assassinate President David Granger. The Minister said although the report was tabled in the National Assembly, it is yet to be examined

by members of Cabinet.
On March 29, 2017, Andriff Gillard reported to the Police that his friend and neighbour, Nizam Khan, offered him $7 million to assassinate the President. Gillard said the offer was made during a conversation between Khan and himself after he approached Khan to borrow $6 million to purchase a property. Following the allegation, President Granger ordered the CoI to investigate the Police investigation into the allegation and to also make recommendations for flaws.
Retired Assistant Police Commissioner, Paul Slowe, conducted the CoI and handed the report to President Granger at the end of August.
“I have some fundamental differences of opinion on it (the recommendations and

findings). That’s the Commissioner’s perspective; I have some differences… it did bring out a number of things as happening in our Police Force…,” Ramjattan said in an invited comment.
“That (the recommendations and findings) was only recommendatory. It is up to the President to go on and do what has to be done but I am certain that the President is going to ask people, like myself, what I think and I will tell him what I think,” he added.
Meanwhile, at the post-Cabinet press briefing on Friday, Minister of State Joseph Harmon told reporters Government has taken the recommendations made by the Commission seriously, and President Granger is in the contemplation stage.
“Certainly we have to take into consideration the recommendations that have been made… But as I said to you earlier, the CoI makes recommendations, but these

are issues and we have to look at ways in which the entire Force is going to be affected by these recommendations. And so you have the recommendations of the CoI and then you also have recommendations from the person who is looking at the Security Sector Reform Programme. So (we) will fit all of these things into place and the recommendations will fit into those, and the actions which will be taken will be based on the recommendations of the CoI and also of the Security Sector Reform Programme,” Harmon said.

Make Seelall resign
The Paul Slowe-led Commission found that a proper investigation was not conducted into the allegation made by Gillard, due to the interference of substantive Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud. Slowe reported that the response by the Police was conditioned by the fact that Imran Khan – brother of Nizam Khan – has a close relationship with Persaud and other senior ranks of the Guyana Police Force. In addition, the Commission found that Imran Khan had considerable influence in the decisions Police Commissioner Persaud made in relation to promotions and transfers which ultimately resulted in the investigative ranks being apprehensive.
The report stated that Persaud acted improperly when he contacted Imran Khan,

after he was arrested at the Criminal Investigative Department (CID) Headquarters on the night of March 29, 2017.
It was noted that his actions caused the ranks to become fearful since Imran called Persaud while in custody at the CID HQ. In addition, Persaud called Detective Inspector Prem Narine instructing that Imran Khan be placed on self-bail for disorderly behaviour. The Commission also found that it was “reckless to grant bail at that time” since little progress was made at that point, in the investigation.
“The Commission recommends that Commissioner Seelall Persaud be made to resign his position as the Commissioner of Police for the Guyana Police Force, under such terms and conditions that His Excellency considers appropriate. Failing which, proceedings should be initiated in accordance with Article 225 on the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana to have him removed from the

office for misbehaviour,” the report recommended.
Perjury
It was also recommended that Persaud be investigated for perjury since he told the CoI that he first knew about the allegation after 16:00h on March 29, 2017, despite Assistant Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken testifying that he informed Persaud of the allegation at around 10:00h that morning.
Additionally, Slowe recommended that Hicken be investigated for perjury since he testified that he had reported the plot allegation to Commissioner Persaud at around 10:00h on March 29, when the allegation was first made. The Commission also recommended that Hicken be disciplined for not reporting the allegation to Ramnarine, who was acting as Police Commissioner, and also for his failure to interview Gillard and record it in the relevant station records.
The Police investigation into the allegation is still ongoing.