-sees `Alice in Wonderland’ story-telling by Walrond on Karimbaksh matter

The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) yesterday said that an international investigation of policing here remains valid and urgent and it lambasted a response by the Home Affairs Minister about sexual assault allegations against Deputy Police Commissioner Fazil Karimbaksh.

“The response by the Minister of Home Affairs (Oneidge Walrond) to sexual assault allegations levelled against Deputy Commissioner of Police Fazil Karimbaksh are worthy of Alice in Wonderland story-telling. The Deputy Commissioner cannot be sent on leave because he is not charged with anything. He cannot be relieved of his duties because the Police Service Commission (PSC) has not been appointed. Who is responsible for appointing the PSC? The President of Guyana. Is the Minister calling on the President to appoint the Commission? No, she is going to consult the Commissioner of Police – whose continued occupancy in this post can be terminated at any time because he is beyond retirement age”, the human rights body said in a release. 

The GHRA said its archives are replete with similar examples prompted by the lack of principled rather than partisan political approaches with respect to policing. Ten days after the allegations were made against Karimbaksh no official  statement has been made over the investigative process to be adopted, exactly the length of time the GHRA said  it took the Deputy Director of Prosecutions (DPP) to recommend murder charges for three men held responsible for the 73 deaths aboard the MV Barima.

“The Karimbaksh case also prompts a reminder of the public outrage in November 2021 when a teen-aged girl committed suicide two hours after her claims of rape were investigated by officers at Cove & John Police station. The suicide was then used to justify closing any further official investigation into her rape claims”, the GHRA said. 

It charged that the culture of the current ruling party embraces similar bizarre directives to protect ‘their own’ in too many instances of sexual assault.   

The GHRA said that the most scandalous example of police mishandling of an investigation occurred over the death of the child Adriana Younge in 2025 which triggered countrywide protest, but never resulted in any charges being laid. That event prompted presentation of an official Petition to Parliament signed by 195 individuals calling for “An immediate, independent and thorough investigation into the operations, conduct and leadership of the Guyana Police Force, to be conducted by a credible and impartial international organization”.

The GHRA said that this Parliamentary Petition was dismissed out-of-hand by the Speaker and never placed before Parliament.

The human rights body said that given the alleged levels of corruption and financial misconduct among senior police officers including allegations of money laundering of millions of Guyana dollars, bribery, illicit acquisition of assets and  disappearance of seized narcotics, the arguments for an independent investigation of the Guyana Police Force remain valid and urgent.