—reminds of unfulfilled CoI promises

ATTORNEY General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, SC, has rebuffed ongoing accusations from the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC) regarding extra-judicial killings.
He called out what he described as their failure to deliver on long-standing promises to hold public inquiries into politically sensitive killings — including the murder of former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government minister Satyadeow ‘Sash’ Sawh, and political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing.
Speaking on his weekly programme ‘Issues in the News’, aired earlier this week, Nandlall took direct aim at what he said was the constant narrative by the opposition, accusing the PPP/C of being connected to or responsible for a number of high-profile killings.
“They campaigned heavily on this platform going into the 2015 elections. They said they would do Commissions of Inquiry (CoIs) and reopen investigations into what they described as extrajudicial killings…” Nandlall said.
Sawh, who served as Minister of Agriculture under the PPP/C government, was gunned down along with his siblings and a security guard at his La Bonne Intention (LBI), East Coast Demerara (ECD) home in April 2006.
Despite repeated claims by opposition members that justice was never served in his case, successive inquiries have not been conducted.
According to Nandlall, the promises made by the coalition to address such matters fell flat once they assumed office.
“They said within 100 days in government, they would launch these CoIs. I remember calling on then President David Granger and the coalition numerous times to hold a Commission of Inquiry into the killing of Courtney Crum-Ewing,” the Attorney General said.
However, Nandlall pointed out that the coalition took no action during its time in office.
Crum-Ewing, a political activist who had vocally opposed the PPP/C, was shot dead in Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD), in March 2015. His killing sparked national outrage and was cited by the coalition as a symbol of political violence during the PPP/C’s tenure.
But Nandlall reminded viewers that the case was addressed through Guyana’s criminal justice system. “A man was arrested, charged, and committed to stand trial,” he said.
Regan Rodrigues, also known as ‘Grey Boy’, was charged, stood trial, and was ultimately acquitted by a jury for Crum-Ewings’ killing.
“That is how the justice system of Guyana works,” Nandlall added, “When you say you want justice, that’s what justice looks like. Somebody has to be charged, and they go through the criminal justice system. So, when you’re calling for justice, I don’t know what else they want.”
The Attorney General also expressed frustration over what he sees as continued attempts to tie him and the PPP/C to Crum-Ewing’s killing, despite no evidence linking them to the crime.
He said he had called on the coalition government to hold the CoI, but they did nothing, and noted that in 2019, Granger stated a lack of evidence and witnesses had prevented investigations into these killings and the killings that followed the 2002 jail break and the ensuing crime wave.
Nandlall sharply rebuked the opposition, condemning what he described as blatant dishonesty and political posturing. He accused them of brandishing these killings like a badge of honour and using them to score political mileage.
Moreover, Nandlall also addressed the killings of 16-year-old Isaiah Henry and his 18-year-old cousin Joel Henry, who were found brutally murdered at Cotton Tree Backdam, West Coast Berbice (WCB) in 2020, as well as the killing of Dartmouth businessman Orin Boston, who was shot dead in his sleep by a policeman in 2021.
Recalling the murders of the Henry cousins, the senior counsel said APNU supporters and leaders spread a vicious rumour that PPP/C supporters were responsible, sparking unrest along WCB.

He reminded that the Regional Security System (RSS) was brought in to lead the investigation, which resulted in two men — Anil Sancharra, called “Dan-Pole” and “Rasta”, and Vinod Gopaul, called “Magga” — being charged and committed to stand trial.
“This is the criminal justice system at work. What more justice [do they want]?” Nandlall questioned. He described the opposition’s fight for justice as “fictitious” and “figmented,” adding that in their view, “because it doesn’t implicate the PPP/C, there is no justice.”
He also referenced the murder of 17-year-old Haresh Singh, also known as ‘Raj,’ of Lot 8, Number 3 Village, WCB, who was discovered on September 9, 2020, along the Number 2 Backdam with head injuries and chop wounds.
He noted that four individuals, including a relative of the Henry cousins, were charged with Singh’s murder and later committed to stand trial.
“So, the justice system is delivering,” he asserted, reprimanding the opposition for exploiting the deaths of these people.
He said the coalition falsely claimed that the neighbouring village of Cotton Tree “had something to do with the Henry boys murder”, when the alleged perpetrators were actually from other communities, in an effort to fuel their racist and political narrative.
In July, Police Constable Sherwin Peters was sentenced to 25 years in prison for manslaughter in the death of Boston, after a jury returned a guilty verdict. Nandlall said the opposition also sought to use the death of 11-year-old Adriana Younge, who was found dead in a hotel pool at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), to score political points.
He highlighted that three independent forensic pathologists concluded the child’s cause of death was drowning, yet the opposition continues to insist that the child was murdered.
“Because those three professionals expressed a view that contradicted the narrative that the opposition concocted, they turned their attack guns on these professionals. They wanted a political connection to the PPP/C and the government, but they found none,” the Attorney General declared.
With elections approaching, Nandlall urged voters to “condemn this level of stupidity” displayed by the opposition. He stressed that they must stop overwhelming the electorate with “fictions and falsehoods” and cease insulting their intelligence.