Transparency International Guyana Inc. (TIGI) is demanding an independent investigation into allegations of rape and threatening behaviour against Deputy Commissioner of Police Fazil Karimbaksh, head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), warning that the handling of the matter by an undisclosed internal police team risks undermining public confidence in the investigation.
In a statement issued October 5, TIGI said the allegations are particularly serious because they involve one of the Guyana Police Force’s most senior officers and a serving police officer who is reportedly the complainant.
The organisation said an investigation conducted entirely within the Police Force cannot automatically be regarded as independent when the accused remains a senior officer with rank and institutional influence.
“TIGI therefore calls 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 Guyana Police Force has said Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken established a team to investigate the allegations. Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond has also said statements will be taken from those involved before the matter proceeds through the appropriate disciplinary or criminal process.
However, TIGI said neither the composition of the investigative team nor its reporting structure has been publicly disclosed.
The organisation wants the authorities to explain whether investigators are subordinate to Karimbaksh, who will provide independent oversight and what measures have been implemented to protect the complainant and potential witnesses from intimidation, retaliation or interference.
“Those omissions are not minor administrative details. They go to the integrity of the investigation.”
TIGI calls for administrative leave
TIGI is also calling for Karimbaksh to be immediately removed from operational duties and placed on administrative leave while the investigation is conducted.
The organisation stressed that administrative leave should not be interpreted as punishment or a finding of guilt, but as a measure to protect the integrity of the investigation and reduce the possibility of interference with witnesses, evidence or the investigative process.
Minister Walrond has similarly said it is her view that Karimbaksh should be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
TIGI said the Government should now move from expressing an opinion to taking decisive action.
The organisation is also demanding the immediate preservation of potentially relevant evidence, including communications, duty rosters, electronic records, CCTV footage and access logs.
Concern over “formal confrontation”
TIGI has raised particular concern over the Minister’s use of the term “formal confrontation” to describe a stage of the investigation.
Walrond previously said investigators would obtain statements, including from Karimbaksh, followed by what she described as a formal confrontation before determining whether disciplinary or criminal proceedings were warranted.
TIGI said the Government must clarify whether this involves requiring the complainant to directly face the accused.
The organisation pointed to Section 42 of Guyana’s Sexual Offences Act, which provides protections for complainants and restricts circumstances in which they may be required to recount allegations in the presence of an accused person.
TIGI is calling for confirmation that no complainant will be compelled or pressured into a face-to-face encounter and that the complainant has access to independent legal and psychosocial support.
President urged to intervene
TIGI is also calling on President Irfaan Ali to ensure that the matter is handled through a process capable of commanding public confidence.
The organisation noted that the Police Service Commission, which has constitutional responsibility for disciplinary control over police officers at or above the rank of Inspector, is currently not constituted.
It argued that the absence of the Commission cannot become an excuse for institutional inaction.
“The President cannot remain a spectator.”
TIGI wants an urgent mechanism established to remove Karimbaksh from operational duties while respecting his constitutional right to due process, together with an expedited process to reconstitute the Police Service Commission.
The organisation has also called for independent protection and support for the complainant and witnesses, full disclosure of safeguards surrounding the investigation and a clear timetable for restoring the Commission.
The allegations against Karimbaksh have not been proven, and he remains entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence.
For TIGI, however, the controversy has become a test of Guyana’s institutional safeguards and whether serious allegations involving a senior public official can be investigated independently and transparently.
“The country deserves a process that is independent in fact, credible in appearance and accountable to the public.”
Source: Village Voice News
