— De Souza questions investigative team, calls for protection of complainant

Red Thread’s Karen De Souza has criticised Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond’s announcement of a proposed confrontation in the investigation into a rape allegation against Deputy Commissioner of Police Fazil Karimbaksh, and dismissed the appointment of an internal investigative team as “foolishness” and “nonsense”.

Responding to questions from Kiskadee Watch, De Souza called for the complainant to be protected from pressure and for Karimbaksh to be removed from any position in which he could influence the investigation.

“Red Thread is in fact appalled that the minister, who is also a legal practitioner … would even as a slip of the tongue suggest that there would be a confrontation between the complainant and Mr Karimbaksh,” she said.

Her comments followed Walrond’s disclosure on the Starting Point podcast that Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken had established a team to investigate the allegation against Karimbaksh, who heads the Special Organised Crime Unit.

The minister said investigators would obtain statements from relevant persons, including the accused, and then hold a “formal confrontation”.

Section 42(1) of the Sexual Offences Act provides that a complainant cannot be required, at any stage of an investigation, to recount her complaint or any part of it in the accused’s presence unless she wants to do so.

Subsection (2) also protects a complainant from being required to view or be in the alleged perpetrator’s presence, except for identification purposes under arrangements sensitive to her wellbeing, including an audiovisual link or a two-way mirror. 

Walrond did not say whether the complainant had requested a confrontation or explain how the proposed procedure would comply with those protections.

De Souza said the serving police officer’s decision to report a senior officer required recognition, given the difficulty of making such a complaint within the disciplined services.

“First of all, we have to really recognise the bravery of this woman police officer for coming forward,” she said.

She expressed strong distrust of the investigative arrangements announced by the minister.

“I do not think that we have a whole lot of confidence. In fact, I know we do not have lots of confidence in the reported investigating committee that has been set up by the commissioner of police. That’s foolishness. That’s nonsense,” she said.

De Souza argued that allowing the accused to remain at work would undermine confidence in the process.

“The fact that the accused is still on the job, still in a position to exert influence in all kinds of ways is not a good sign,” she said.

She called for him to be removed from any position in which he could influence investigators, inquiries or other persons who might wish to come forward.

Walrond had said in the podcast that she strongly believed Karimbaksh should be sent on administrative leave pending the investigation. Asked who could authorise that step, she referred to the Police Service Commission, which she said was not constituted, and indicated that she and the commissioner would have to discuss how to proceed.

The subsequent police statement did not announce that Karimbaksh had been placed on leave, identify the investigators or provide a timetable for their work. It said the allegation would be investigated professionally and impartially, with due process for all parties. 

Questioned

De Souza questioned why the commission remained unconstituted and when it would be appointed.

“If it’s never constituted, does that mean that he remains in that position collecting taxpayer dollars while he is accused of abusing taxpayers?” she asked.

She also questioned the emphasis on transferring the complainant while the accused remained in his position. Walrond, however, had stated that the officer’s transfer  was made at her own request.

De Souza pointed to reports of earlier allegations against Karimbaksh and criticised his subsequent advancement within the force. She said the previous investigation had produced no accountability, while he had been promoted to increasingly senior positions.

“In fact, what has happened is that he has been promoted, seriously promoted, you know, to very high levels in the police force,” she said.

In 2021, Karimbaksh acknowledged that the then Police Service Commission had moved to institute disciplinary proceedings over sexual harassment accusations, which he denied and described as “trumped up”. Those proceedings became the subject of legal challenges. 

De Souza also criticised the handling of an earlier allegation against former government minister Nigel Dharamlall, referring to an occasion when the child complainant encountered the accused during a visit to the alleged crime scene. She said she hoped the Director of Public Prosecutions would play a more positive role in the current investigation than, in her assessment, in that earlier matter.

On safeguards for the police officer, De Souza said the authorities needed to ensure that the complainant was protected and secure in her employment, while preventing interference with the investigation. She called on Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud to take an active interest in those protections.

“The public has to keep an eye on this case. We have to be vigilant and we have to maintain some pressure with the expectation that the provisions of the Sexual Offences Act will be implemented,” she said.

She argued that statements about women’s equality and rights needed to be matched by action when allegations were made against persons in positions of power.

Karimbaksh has not publicly responded to the current allegation.