THE Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, S.C., has recommended that a coroner’s inquest be conducted to determine the circumstances surrounding the death of the 12-year-old schoolgirl, Kayla Barnabas.

Barnabas, a student of the West Demerara Secondary School, was struck down by Guyana Police Force motor pickup GXX 6575, driven by a police corporal, on June 1, 2022, at Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara.
Reports are that the schoolgirl was crossing the road when the police vehicle crashed into her.

The police had submitted the file to the DPP’s Chambers for legal advice. On Thursday, the DPP returned the file and advised that an inquest be held to determine whether the policeman is criminally responsible for the child’s death.

An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions and is held to determine the cause of a person’s death. In Guyana, a sitting magistrate acting as the coroner, empanels a jury, following which the inquest is conducted.