Speaker must probe alleged assault in Parliament — DPP to Police

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Senior Counsel Shalimar Ali-Hack has advised the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to let the Speaker of the National Assembly deal with the alleged assault of A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Member of Parliament, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley.
Last Wednesday, the Opposition parliamentarian alleged that Government MP Kwame McCoy physically assaulted her on the corridors of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), where Parliament sittings are being held owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Public Affairs Minister has vehemently denied the allegation.

Nevertheless, the Police were called in to probe the incident, taking statements from several persons as well as reviewing CCTV footage from the ACCC. The footage only captured the before and after of the confrontation between the two MPs and showed nothing of the alleged assault.
After conducting investigations, the Police submitted the case file to the DPP Chambers for advice on the way forward.
But in her response, the DPP suggested that House Speaker Manzoor Nadir handle the matter since the incident occurred in the precinct of the National Assembly.
“This alleged incident occurred in Parliament and in such circumstances, it is advised that the Speaker of the National Assembly deals with this matter under the Standing Orders of Parliament,” Ali-Hack indicated in a correspondence to the Police, which was seen by Guyana Times.

The APNU/AFC Opposition had persistently disrupted last week’s Consideration of the 2021 Budget Estimates despite the Speaker informing them of the proper procedure they had to adopt in order to get the House to deal with the issue.
Last Wednesday, their uproar in the Dome of the ACCC forced Speaker Nadir to suspend the day’s proceedings.
The following day, the Opposition MPs continued with the disturbances by banging persistently on the desks even as the Speaker moved ahead with examining the budget estimates.
In fact, their actions caused the Speaker to suspend at least seven APNU/AFC parliamentarian for various infractions.
Moreover, Nadir also consolidated the various programmes under each budget agency to fast-track the process, thus passing the $383.1 billion 2021 National Budget – four days ahead of schedule.

In a statement on the night of the alleged incident, Minister McCoy “emphatically and completely” denied assaulting MP Sarabo-Halley.
“At no time did I touch Ms Halley with my phone or any part of my body. At the time in question, outside the Parliament Chamber, I had just completed a verbal exchange with [Chief Elections Officer] Mr Keith Lowenfield, who attended the Committee of Supply. After Mr Lowenfield’s departure, I began to speak with Minister Anand Persaud. I observed the presence of Ms Halley, who was approximately four feet away from me. We exchanged words, but there was absolutely no physical contact whatsoever,” McCoy detailed in a statement.
The Minister went on to say that the allegation was “totally false, malicious and intended to cause me embarrassment and public ridicule”.
In a subsequent interview, Minister Persaud recounted that his colleague Minister and Lowenfield were in a verbal exchange when Sarabo-Halley appeared shortly after and got between the two men.

“[She] was telling Kwame “move from here, move from here.” Kwame took out his phone and was trying to video what took place. They were about three feet apart from each other and I never saw Kwame assaulting anyone. I was a loner there,” Persaud related.
Meanwhile, during a subsequent press conference that night, Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon after reviewing the CCTV footage, said further investigations were required.
“Unfortunately, what that video footage showed was that there are some areas of the National Assembly that are not covered by the cameras… The video footage offers you evidence of what may have happened before and after,” Harmon noted.
Nevertheless, the Opposition Leader noted that the Police would now have to rely on eyewitnesses but did not say who those persons were when asked.
However, the Opposition Leader had contended that an apology would not be “sufficient”.