Govt prosecutors will trigger persecution, not prosecution – Nandlall

…criticises undermining of DPP Office

Government’s hiring of special prosecutors to take legal action against former Government officials who have house lots at the Sparendaam, East Coast Demerara Housing Project, also known as “Pradoville 2”, is not only a flagrant attempt at political witch-hunting, but it violates the Constitution and undermines the constitutional office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), vindicating the assertion that a parallel justice system is being created.

This is according to former Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, who expressed great disturbance over Government’s move to establish a team of prosecutors to lead the case against the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) officials who acquired house lots in the Sparendaam Housing Scheme (Pradoville 2) on the East Coast of Demerara, at costs believed to be below market value.
In a video circulating on social media, Nandlall said Government is blatantly making a mockery of the criminal justice system by cherry-picking persons to skew evidence in such a way to influence the Administration’s desired outcome.
The parliamentarian highlighted that a prosecutor is a minister of justice and is to impartially present evidence to support a particular charge and is professionally obliged not to have an interest in the outcome of the prosecution; but in this venture which Government is embarking, those elements are absent.

Additional evidence
Moreover, Nandlall reminded that the DPP already pronounced that there is not sufficient evidence to prosecute persons identified as culpable in the Pradoville 2 Housing Project and unless additional evidence is found, then the matter is regarded as settled or concluded.
“We are not aware of this additional evidence and here it is in usurping the functions of the DPP, the Government is now embarking upon a course to hire prosecutors after not being satisfied with the position taken by the DPP,” he surmised.

Nandlall said Government’s move to take the lead on such an initiative weakens the office of the DPP, which is the constitutional body tasked with the function of recommending criminal charges and any attempts to bypass or influence its operations are outright unconstitutional.
“It is not the function of an Executive Government to prosecute criminal offences. The prosecution of all criminal offences is vested by the Constitution in the office of the DPP, an independent office that the Constitution said must not be the subject of any influence of external authority, more particularly, political authority. Why is this office being bypassed?” Nandlall posited.
He explained that indeed there is nothing wrong with sourcing prosecutors outside of the prosecutors’ office but the decision to hire and who to hire must be done by the DPP.
“What we will see is not prosecution but persecution and political witch-hunting. They have SARA (State Assets Recovery Agency) and SOCU (Special Organised Crime Unit) outside of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), two political units established to carry out law enforcement functions. They are staffed with politicians, they will hand their findings to politically appointed prosecutors and I predict again that they will have a special court they will appoint to hear these matters so the Government will be running a parallel criminal justice system,” he asserted, noting that it is nothing short of an abrogation of the rule of law.
The PPP Executive said the Party will support any investigation into wrongdoings and is not against the prosecution of any criminal offence but under certain conditions.
“Once it is done fairly and once the rules of natural justice are observed and once it is done in accordance with the rule of law. Those are the principles we are advocating must be complied with,” he stated.