— to deter public officers from misbehaving, says Attorney-General

THE legal proceedings currently before courts against various former public officials are imperative to set a precedent which will deter current and future holders of public office from committing misconduct during their tenure.

These cases will inevitably lead to “good governance” and strengthen Guyana’s democracy, Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., explained during a television programme “Issues in the News” on Tuesday.

“They are important for our democracy and they are important for the general legal system of our country in the sense that persons who may want to do these things in the future must know that the state has a capacity to protect itself and its public system from such conduct,” Nandlall said.

He added: “… and when public officers who are put in charge of the State’s machinery misbehave in this way, then the State is not going to sit idly by and the rule of law will take over and run its course.”

Nandlall made the comment while giving a general update of the matters before the courts which involves public officials. He added that while the public is anxious of the outcome of the cases, patience is required to ensure thorough investigations.

“These are investigations that are being properly done without any political direction or interference by the relevant law enforcement agencies taking their time and doing proper work, so when they present a case, they present a proper case,” he said.

THOROUGHNESS NEEDED

The Attorney-General noted that the thoroughness needed to prepare the cases is what accounts for the time that is being expended, as it is not a swift process by its very nature.

He explained that the cases against Chairperson of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) Volda Lawrence, Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, and A Partnership For National Unity Plus Alliance For Change’s (APNU+AFC) activist Carol Joseph, were delayed due to a procedural issue being adjudicated upon.

The trio are all accused of inflating the results of Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), the country’s largest voting district, to give the APNU+AFC Coalition a majority win at the March 2, 2020 General and Regional polls.

Lawrence was slapped with two charges of conspiracy to commit fraud while Joseph is charged jointly with Mingo for forgery.

Nandlall explained that these offences are triable either way, meaning they can be tried both summarily in the Magistrates’ Court before a magistrate or in the High Court before a judge and jury, and that is what was being determined.

Attorney-at-law, Nigel Hughes, representing the trio, had argued for the charges against his clients to remain indictable, which would have seen the court conduct a preliminary inquiry to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for them to stand trial in the High Court.

However, on Monday last, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan ruled that the matters will be tried summarily. The trio all pleaded not guilty to the charges, were placed on bail and the proceedings were adjourned until June 11, 2021, for full disclosure of statements.

Nandlall explained that if the trial was set before a judge and jury, a significant amount of time would elapse before the matters are concluded, and a jury trial does not guarantee an outcome based on law and evidence but by instincts.

“These are political matters and political people are going to be on the jury, you can’t stop that, and persons will come to conclusions that are tainted with politics, and in that case the state will not get a fair trial,” he said.

CONCLUDED QUICKER

“And that is why the State wants the case to be done in the Magistrate’s court … the case will be concluded quicker and you can have a tribunal who can understand the law, not a jury; you have a magistrate, not a jury, who will be hearing and determining these cases,” he added.

In February, Senior Magistrate Leron Daly ruled that a Preliminary Inquiry will be conducted into the two counts of misconduct in public office against Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers. This was after she upheld submissions by Hughes for the charges to remain indictable.

Myers has been placed on $300,000 bail in relation to both charges. The prosecution has since indicated its intent to file an appeal against the Magistrate’s decision.

Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, is also facing three counts of forgery and three counts of misconduct in public office; he is currently on $300,000 bail as well.

This week, Former Minister of Public Health, Dr George Norton, who served under the APNU + AFC administration, was also slapped with a misconduct in public office charge by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) of the Guyana Police Force pertaining to his conduct in the rental of the Sussex Street Bond.

The offence of misconduct in public office acts as a safeguard against corruption and dereliction of public duty, and to promote and ensure transparency and accountability by officials who hold public office.

In December 2020, the Law Commission of England and Wales published its final Misconduct in Public Office Report (Law Com no 397), which outlined several areas of deficiency and suggested necessary reforms to the offence, specifically enshrining it in statute.

The Guyana Chronicle recently interviewed prominent attorneys-at-law, President of the Guyana Bar Association (GBA), Teni Housty, and Chairman of the GBA Criminal Bar Committee, Glenn Hanoman, who related similar sentiments as the Law Commission outlined in its report