…Ram wants Ramjattan to testify

CHRISTOPHER Ram, the lawyer representing the businessman accused of plotting to kill President David Granger, has petitioned the Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry, seeking to have Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan take the stand.
Ram who is representing Imran Khan, brother of accused Nizam Khan, who also is a friend of Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, made the request on Wednesday when the inquiry continued. Ram opted to provide the Commission with reasons, but Chairman of the CoI, Paul Slowe said those reasons could be discussed outside of the public domain. Ram’s client is scheduled to testify on Friday for the first time, along with Assistant Police Commissioner, David Ramnarine and Inspector Prim Narine, who are being recalled by the Commission.
Also on Wednesday, Commissioner Slowe took umbrage to the fact that the Guyana Police Force has failed to submit all relevant documentation, including statements to the CoI, despite a formal request to do same. Slowe was at the time referencing the Luanna Walcott statement read by Corporal Laundry.
Wednesday was not the first time Mr Slowe has had cause to raise concerns about the failure of the Force to submit all documents relevant to the Commission’s inquiry. On the 13th July, the Commissioner of Police was written to by the Commission requesting all statements and documents pertinent to the CoI.
“Here it is again, I have to remark that apparently there is a document pertinent to the investigation…I am expressing disappointment that these documents were not submitted,” said Slowe. Chang, the Force’s attorney, volunteered to provide the Commission with the said statement by Walcott. “We have seen during the course of the inquiry, ranks from the Force saying they made statements and…so I am left to wonder what else is excluded,” the Commissioner remarked.

Frame
Meanwhile, a Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD) woman has reported that Andriff Gillard, the man who said he was offered $7M to assassinate President David Granger, told her he was going to ‘set up’ Nizam Khan so that he could be placed in jail.
The COI heard that Luanna Walcott, a cosmetologist, made a statement to Corporal Jermaine Laundry of the CID indicating that Gillard had planned to frame Khan. Gillard reported to the police that Khan, a businessman residing in Diamond, EBD, offered him $7M to kill the head-of-state sometime in 2015. Gillard testified before the commission under oath and noted that he had wanted to borrow $6M from the businessman to aid in his purchase of a property. It was at that time, the man said, he was offered $7M to assassinate the President. He said had he accepted the offer, he would not have had to repay Khan the money. The alleged plot to kill the President was reported in March 2017. Khan has since denied the allegation and noted that while he and Gillard were friends in the past, their friendship ended because Gillard borrowed money from him and failed to repay him. In fact, he told the CoI on Monday that Gillard owes him some $1.3M.
On Wednesday, when Corporal Laundry was recalled before the Commission to be questioned by attorney for the Police, retired Justice Ian Chang, he read openly the statement provided by Walcott on July 19. In her statement, the woman said she was Gillard’s former landlord and has known him for about six years. Walcott opened her salon about three years ago and rented a spot in the premises to Gillard. The woman said the man never paid his rent on time and noted that she would have to report him to the police from time to time after which, he would pay the outstanding monies in part.
“He use to beat his child mother several times and she use to come over and complain for him. I would call him, talk to him…that time he was living opposite me,” Laundry read from Walcott’s statement. The woman said she was also told that it was Khan who had assisted the owner of the property where he operated his taxi service to have him evicted because he (Khan) wanted him evicted.
It was based on the aforementioned that Walcott said Gillard wanted to get back at Khan. In her statement, the woman said Gillard promised to have Khan “lost away in jail,” a story he thinks would be believable as they were friends.
The woman said she enquired from Gillard the evidence to support his claim to which he replied, “When I done with he, I gonna give everybody thing fuh talk.”
“When I done plan, I gonna go and say that he paying me fuh kill Granger,” Walcott recalled in her statement. The woman told the police that she pleaded with the man to not carry through his plan as Khan was the one who assisted him in his time of need. “…I then told Andriff not to do that… [I asked him] if is not Nizam he said help him with his business…he said yes, but the man wicked because he want deh with he wife. I then told Andriff not to do that because he knows the man never do that…I asked him if he is ungrateful and [told him] ungratefulness is next to witchcraft. I told him he will reap his reward…if Nizam is wicked,” Walcott said in her statement.
The Diamond Housing Scheme woman said she cannot remember when she saw a Facebook report on the matter, but noted that when she heard of the CoI, she went to her attorney who advised her to speak with the police. “I was not forced nor prompt to go to the police,” her statement concluded.
Meanwhile, Corporal Laundry who was part of the initial investigation into the alleged assassination plot, told the Commission that he informed Gillard prior to the confrontation between Gillard and Leon Baldeo, of the allegation made against him (Gillard) by Baldeo.
“Do you admit that you did contact Gillard by phone and inform him that Baldeo made a statement and what he said and you then invited him for a confrontation?” asked Chang, to which Laundry hesitantly replied, “yes sir” after reviewing his statement dated April 12.
Laundry then told the Commission that while stationed at Grove Police Station that he was familiar with Nizam Khan, but did not know Gillard as he never had encounters with him. Meanwhile, on March 29, when Corporals Laundry and Heranjan Deonarine and Sergeant Komal Petamber travelled to Nizam Khan’s Diamond Housing Scheme home to conduct their investigations, it was reported that Khan was speaking with an unidentified male. The police did not seek to ascertain the identity of the man. Gillard had travelled to the location with the police.
“You said that when Gillard pointed out Khan, Khan was speaking to a person but that person was not questioned? Did you see any need to question that person?” asked the police attorney to which Corporal Laundry replied, “No sir”.
The Corporal said though he was present at Khan’s home when he was arrested by Police, he could not recall whether the man’s yard was fully concreted. He also could not tell the Commission whether Special Branch was involved in the investigation of the assassination plot immediately after the report was made. “I won’t know sir,” he said. He could not say too, whether after Khan’s release on the night of March 29, whether he was being trailed by Police. Additionally, he was asked of maltreatment of prisoners who were housed at the Grove Police Station while he was there. The Commission was told earlier of ill-treatment of prisoners by police. “You know of police mistreating prisoners at Grove [Police Station]? Throwing sugar water in the cell fuh get ants so it could bit up the prisoners? asked Chang.
“No sir, I don’t know anything about that,” said Laundry, who said he has never heard or seen maltreatment of prisoners.