-highlights the organisation’s ‘selective’ public outrage

THE following is the full text of the statement released by Minister of Home Affairs, Oneidge Walrond:

“I categorically reject Red Thread’s attempt to mis-characterise my comments concerning the investigation into allegations made against Deputy Commissioner Karimbaksh.

For the avoidance of doubt, I did not say that the complainant would be confronted by the accused. I did not mandate such a confrontation, and I have issued no instruction directing investigators to subject the complainant to any procedure contrary to the Sexual Offences Act.

What I communicated was information provided to me concerning the investigative process. The conduct of a criminal investigation is a matter for investigators, operating within the parameters of the law. I neither design nor direct the day-to-day investigative procedures of the Guyana Police Force.

Red Thread’s attempt to convert my remarks into an instruction to violate the rights of a complainant is therefore false.

It is also difficult to ignore the predictable selectivity of Red Thread’s public outrage. On matters involving the PPP/C Government, the organisation readily emerges from the shadows, often with sweeping condemnation before establishing precisely what was said and in what context. On numerous other matters of legitimate national concern, that same urgency and volume are noticeably absent.

Advocacy is important in a democracy. Selective advocacy, however, does not entitle anyone to manufacture a position and then condemn the Government for holding it.

If Red Thread wishes to criticise me, it is free to do so. But it should criticise what I actually said—not what is politically convenient to claim that I said.

Conveniently absent from this latest attack is the fact that I publicly stated that, in my view, Deputy Commissioner Karimbaksh should be placed on administrative leave pending the investigation. That position could hardly be clearer.

This Government will not be lectured into abandoning either the rights of a complainant or the fundamental requirements of due process. Both matter. Both must be protected.

The complainant is entitled to the full protection afforded by law, including the applicable protections under the Sexual Offences Act. Equally, the person against whom allegations have been made is entitled to due process. Investigators are required to uphold those protections, and I expect them to do precisely that.
No political organisation, advocacy group, commentator, or public official gets to rewrite those legal protections.

This is a serious criminal allegation involving a senior member of the Guyana Police Force. It deserves a serious investigation—not political theatre, manufactured controversy, or trial by public commentary.

The law must be followed consistently. It cannot be selectively invoked when politically convenient.

I remain resolute that the investigation must be professional, impartial, and thorough. Let the investigators investigate. Let the evidence determine the outcome. And let the law take its course.”