THE Colwyn Harding case is one that has rocked the Guyanese nation, splitting it into two main factions; that is, those who are sympathetic to the guy and believe that he was indeed sodomized, while some believe that he is a liar, manipulated by dubious persons into making this outrageous story.Yes, there are two main camps with two compelling stories, so whom should we believe? It is as simple as that: Whom should we believe? I am not the type who’s quick to judge, but rather I am more inclined to inquire, to investigate, right down to the very last detail before I make my pronouncement.
Since I have laid down the cornerstone, or objective, for my discourse, that is, to investigate, I will endeavour to take that in-depth look into the Harding case. The sequence of events is as follows:
1.) Colwyn Harding is a felon who was detained by the police and awaiting trial for armed robbery. While in detention, he was found to be suffering from strangulated hernia, which caused the police to take him to the Georgetown Public Hospital for treatment. While he was hospitalized at the GPHC, he was visited by Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes, who thought that a case could be made out against the police that he was brutally sodomized. It was after that visit by the attorney that this story of abuse and sodomy came to light. Note well, this allegation of sodomy came two months after his detention awaiting trial.
2.) Now, the red light in my head immediately started flickering, which leads me to the question: why did he wait an entire month to come up with this sodomy allegation? The answer comes straight from his attorney, who said “he was traumatized”; that was the reason given for his not wanting to reveal the contents of his story. So, let us give Hughes the benefit of the doubt, because he is the one doing all the talking; he is the one making up all the excuses. But, here again, we are not speaking about a five-year-old child who is not knowledgeable of his/her rights, but of a grown man who is well acquainted with his rights under the law, both as a felon as well as a free citizen. Nevertheless, let us try to see how far we can go, to at least accommodate him with this “traumatized” story.
Then, how come he was not traumatized or camera-shy when he was interviewed by Hughes, right there in front of a televised audience of millions? This interview by Hughes was televised all across the Region and the wider world. But what that lawyer is not telling us is that it was a well thought out plan to extort $100M from hardworking taxpayers; big bucks that would make any felon cast away his shyness. Hughes sees this as a golden opportunity to grasp at easy money that would bail him out of his miserable life of debt, therefore he is egging a willing client on into making these outrageous claims. So, their best shot of his being traumatized is a very shady and shaky story.
3.) Harding is now being transformed from a felon to a “victim of torture” by police, and he is now the celebrity central figure in a sodomy case, like another young criminal accused of murder who became a millionaire after he was really tortured. So, if he was guilty (and people in West Demerara are convinced he is), he literally got away with murder and was instead rewarded.
His lawyer made big bucks, too, having taken a huge chunk of that payout, after saying he would represent the guy for free. Another lawyer thinks such an allegation by his client could earn him even more millions.
4.) When doctors at the Georgetown Public Hospital did not lend support to their story, they sought the opinion of physicians at a private institution. Here again, they did not get the information they were looking for, hence they took him to Jamaica, hoping to get some medical statement to corroborate their story. They are going to tell the same story to the physicians there, that their patient was brutally sodomized by a policeman, using a baton, to which the doctors would do their own observations with the view of coming up with a likely prognosis.
5.) But they would find that he was suffering from strangulated hernia. However, seeing the close proximity of his condition to that of the area they claimed he was abused, then the medical examiner may write up an inconclusive report. Now this will be construed (for public consumption) by Hughes and his team as sure evidence that Harding was indeed sodomized, and run away with that erroneous assumption. In any event, the decision given by the first attending physician should be taken into evidence if ever this matter comes to court.
The simple truth here is that Hughes and company have no case, and they might as well kiss the victory of easy money goodbye. Harding’s case is not an attack on Officer Devendra Singh; it is a direct assault on the police and, by extension, law and order, and peace and tranquility in our country. It is a direct affront to the rule of law.
When a known criminal could be catapulted into the position of becoming a victim, then heaven help us all! This Hughes/Harding saga, if allowed, has the capacity to undermine the foundation of law and order in society, something the Opposition yearns for. It can also have far-reaching effects of starting a race war, when memories of the Lusignan Massacre is fresh on our minds; when an outright lie was concocted that the pregnant girlfriend of the criminal, “Fineman”, was brutally raped and killed by the police.
This blatant lie was the catalyst leading up to the murderous rampage in Lusignan, where innocent women and children were killed, some of them in their sleep; and in Bartica. This is the potential danger that the Harding story holds. I rest my case.
Written By Neil Adams