(Kaieteur News) – Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken on Monday said the Guyana Police Force cannot utilise the services of officials outside the institution to probe allegations of sexual misconduct against head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), Deputy Commissioner of Police Fazil Karimbaksh.
Speaking with Kaieteur News on Monday, Hicken confirmed that the police force is leading the probe against the officer, who has been accused by a serving female police inspector of rape, sexual assault and threatening behaviour.
Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken
When asked about the independence of the investigation, Hicken said, “We have officers within the force doing the investigation; we can’t take people outside the force to do a criminal investigation.”
Hicken’s comments come days after Minister of Home Affairs Oneidge Walrond broke her silence on the matter.
Karimbaksh, head of SOCU, was accused of rape and threatening behaviour by a serving female police inspector. The accusations include multiple incidents of sexual assault, threats to her life and an alleged incident in which a firearm was pointed at her.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Fazil Karimbaksh
Minister of Home Affairs Oneidge Walrond on Friday revealed that an official investigation had commenced into the allegations against Karimbaksh.
Speaking during an online programme, Walrond said Hicken informed her that a team had been established to investigate the allegations.
“The investigation will entail getting statements from other persons whom they may think is appropriate to get statements from the accused, Deputy Commissioner Karimbaksh to hold a formal confrontation,” she said.
Meanwhile, civil society groups, including Transparency International Guyana Inc. (TIGI) and the Women & Gender Equality Commission, have expressed concern over the handling of the allegations against Karimbaksh and called on the authorities to come clean on the details surrounding the probe.
TIGI noted that, given the circumstances, an investigation conducted by an undisclosed internal police team cannot simply be accepted as independent, impartial or capable of commanding public confidence.
Public Spirited citizens gathered outside of the Special Organised Crime Unit calling for its Head Fazil Karimbaksh to be charged following allegations of sexual assault and death threats involving a female officer.
TIGI therefore called for an immediate, credible and independent investigation, with investigators and oversight demonstrably outside the authority, professional orbit and institutional influence of Deputy Commissioner Karimbaksh.
The transparency body explained that while the Guyana Police Force has announced only that the Commissioner of Police established a team to investigate, it has not identified the composition of that team, its reporting structure, whether its members are junior to the deputy commissioner, the measures adopted to protect the complainant and witnesses, or the safeguards against interference—actual or perceived.
TIGI said it has no confidence in an unnamed police investigative unit tasked with examining allegations against one of the force’s most senior officers while he remains in office and continues to exercise rank, influence and institutional standing.
“A deputy commissioner cannot remain at work as though nothing has occurred while officers—who may be his juniors, colleagues or subordinates—are expected to investigate allegations against him. No credible anti-corruption, human-rights or rule-of-law framework would regard that as an adequate safeguard,” the organisation said in a statement.
TIGI emphasised that administrative leave is not punishment.
“It is not a finding of guilt. It is an essential protective measure to preserve evidence, protect witnesses and complainants, prevent real or perceived interference, and protect the integrity of a process whose credibility is already in question,” the organisation said.
The transparency body also noted Minister Walrond’s statement that a police team would investigate, take statements and conduct what she described as a “formal confrontation.”
TIGI expressed alarm at the minister’s reference to a “formal confrontation” between the complainant and the accused.
“Section 42 of Guyana’s Sexual Offences Act expressly protects complainants from being required to recount their complaint in the accused’s presence unless they wish to do so. It further restricts circumstances in which a complainant may be required to view or be in the presence of an alleged perpetrator,” TIGI said.
Alluding to the fact that the Police Service Commission, which has a constitutional role that includes disciplinary control over senior police officers, is not presently constituted, TIGI called on President Irfaan Ali, as head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, to urgently exercise the leadership required to protect public confidence in the Guyana Police Force and the administration of justice.
“The president must ensure that the constitutional process to establish a functioning police service commission is completed without further delay. Public reporting has indicated that the appointment process for new constitutional commissions had been initiated after prior terms expired; that process must now be treated as urgent, not routine,” TIGI said.
In the same vein, the Women & Gender Equality Commission, in a statement, said it has taken note of the reports involving Karimbaksh.
Over the past several years, the commission noted that it has done extensive work to educate the public as a whole, but particularly people in the workplace, about the unlawfulness of sexual harassment and the gravity of sexual offences. It said it has urged persons to report such matters, recognising that in many instances victims are constrained by fear and embarrassment.
“What is particularly unacceptable in this instance is that serving members of the Guyana Police Force, who are mandated to serve and protect the public, are themselves subject to sexual abuse from within their own institution,” the Commission said.
The commission added that the police officer who made the accusations overcame fear and embarrassment and was brave enough to report the incidents to the Minister of Home Affairs.
The statement stressed that there are many questions surrounding the impartiality of the investigation.
“We are unable to confirm whether any appropriate actions were taken in response to the allegations of rape. Was the high-ranking officer relieved from duty as is customary in this type of case?” the Commission questioned.
The Women & Gender Equality Commission noted that it is the responsibility of everyone, but particularly those who bear a duty of care—including Ministers, agency heads and law enforcement—to ensure that the rights of all rights holders are protected and upheld.
“This case represents a test of Guyana’s institutions on whether they are capable of holding the ‘powerful’ accountable. It is therefore an imperative that we must not fail in this instance,” the commission added.
Source: Kaieteur News
