FINDING serious concerns over the quality of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) investigation into the 2018 murder of Christopher Swammy, Justice Navindra Singh on Friday acquitted four men, who were charged with the brutal crime.

Rajkumar Singh, Osafo Douglas, Vikash Persaud and Fareed Haniff had been jointly charged with murdering Swamy in the course or furtherance of a robbery on October 21, 2018, at Mon Repos Pasture, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

The quartet had initially denied the charge when they were arraigned at the High Court in Demerara last month.
The men were represented by attorneys Madam Kissoon, Kezia Williams, Dexter Todd, Jevon Cox and Tracy Marks. The attorneys had submitted that the defence had no case to answer since the prosecutor failed to establish a case against their clients.

Justice Singh upheld the submission and stated that the State had failed to establish a prima facie case against Liverpool for the offence of murder.
The judge criticised the police investigation as “very poor” and noted that some of the evidence should not have even advanced past the preliminary inquiry stage.
He then ordered the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.

Although the judge freed the men, Rajkumar Singh will remain in custody since he has another murder case in relation to the fatal stabbing of another inmate last year while on remand at the Lusignan Prison.

Reports indicate that on the day in question, Swamy, his wife, and her sister, along with Rawle Williams, 28, and his spouse Marcia Williams, 38, of Mon Repos, ECD, were “liming” and imbibing in front of the deceased’s home. That is when they were pounced upon by two masked men, one brandishing a handgun.

The bandits then allegedly relieved Marcia of her cellphone and a sum of cash; next, they lashed her husband Rawle on his head and shot Christopher Swamy in the left region of his chest, after which they fled the scene.

Christopher and Rawle were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, but Christopher was pronounced dead on arrival. Rawle was treated and discharged later.