Opposition to move to High Court over Pres Ali’s extension of acting Top Cop’s tenure – Norton

– says extension is unconstitutional

In light of President Dr Irfaan Ali’s decision to indefinitely extend the tenure of acting Police Commissioner, Clifton Hicken, the joint parliamentary Opposition has signalled its intention to challenge the Head of State’s decision in the courts. Hicken turned 55 – the age of retirement – in July 2023.
At his weekly press conference on Thursday, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton revealed that the party’s lawyers are of the firm view that the extension of Hicken’s tenure is unconstitutional; and thus, they will move to the High Court to have him ousted.
“We have already prepared the case and it will be filed sometime next week. We are challenging the extension of the Commissioner of Police by the President. As we understand the law, if he was a substantive Commissioner then the law would have provided for it, but since he has been part of the drama group and acting for a long time, he is not entitled,” said Norton.

By extending Hicken’s appointment, Opposition Parliamentarian Ganesh Mahipaul believes that the President is being unfair to many servicemen and women in the Police Force, noting that the Head of State is short-changing the line of succession in terms of people being promoted.
He has described this as “demoralisation.”
President Ali appointed Hicken to act as the country’s Commissioner of Police in March 2022 following the retirement of the then-acting Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie.

Back then, the Opposition had challenged Hicken’s appointment as being unconstitutional but in dismissing the application, the Chief Justice ruled the President acted well within the Constitution of Guyana given the peculiar circumstances with which he was confronted.
Article 211 (1) of the Constitution mandates that “the Commissioner of Police and every Deputy Commissioner of Police shall be appointed by the President acting after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition and the Chairperson of the Police Service Commission [PSC] after the Chairperson has consulted with the other members of the Commission”.
Meanwhile, provisions for a person to act in the office of the Police Commissioner are outlined under Article 211 (2) of the Constitution, and the provisions contained in Article 211 (1), shall apply to such an appointment as they apply to the appointment of a person to hold that office.
When Hicken’s appointment took effect, the Office of the Opposition Leader was vacant following the resignation of Joseph Harmon on January 26, 2022. Norton—Leader of the PNCR—was appointed Opposition Leader on April 13, 2022. The tenure of the previous PSC expired on August 8, 2021; it was reconstituted on May 31, 2022, by President Ali.
In light of the foregoing circumstances, the Chief Justice had said that President Ali could not be faulted for making the appointment when there was no one for him to consult, adding that it was not within his power to appoint an Opposition Leader.
In the absence of an Opposition Leader and the PSC, she held that President Ali, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, acted “out of necessity” and it was reasonable for him to take action in his “own deliberate judgement” to appoint someone to act as Top Cop.
The Chief Justice had also reasoned that leaving the highest office in the GPF vacant could have had a negative impact on national security. In January of this year, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn had hinted at Hicken’s term being extended because of his satisfactory leadership.

PCA report
Norton also addressed instances in which the Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), Justice William Ramlall accused the Top Cop of violating the law. In his 2022 report, Justice Ramlal, among other things, called out the Police Force to stop investigating matters in relation to death and serious injuries allegedly caused by Police ranks.
According to him, the PCA is the statutory body responsible for probing such matters.
And with this unlawful conduct continuing unabated, the retired Judge has called the President to intervene. “It is my recommendation that His Excellency, the President makes it clear to the Commissioner of Police that he cannot continue to violate the law…” In response to this, the Opposition Leader said the Government is facilitating what is happening in the Police Force.
“I’ve said on numerous occasions that if you take a man that is neither certified nor qualified for the job and give him the job, you are almost immediately compromising him. It means he cannot operate professionally; it means he cannot command the respect of the ranks below and around him. And therefore, you have created conditions for a breakdown in the line of authority.”
“And therefore, I think that the Police Force is in crisis because it does not have credible leadership and I think it will continue like this. The legal challenge is made and we believe it will succeed and we hope after that there is a proper process to have a Police Commissioner that is both certified and qualified,” added Norton.
(Fiona Morrison)