Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Major Bruce Munroe, his wife Carol Ann Munroe and ex-soldier Leonard Wharton were yesterday charged with trying to overthrow the government.
The Munroes and Wharton were not required to plead to the indictable charge of treason, which was read to them by acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. According to the charge, between December 1, 2009 and December 16, 2010, at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara, they intended to level war within Guyana to force the President out of his office, in order to compel the Government of Guyana to change its measures.
The trio was remanded and Magistrate Sewnarine-Beharry set January 7 as the return date for reports, after defence lawyers requested a speedy commencement of the preliminary inquiry. The police prosecutor Assistant Superintendant Fazil Karimbaksh initially requested a two- month adjournment in order to prepare his case.
The three, who were handcuffed and shackled, were under heavy police guard at the court. As they stood in the docks of the courtroom, a large crowd of family members and other persons converged to witness the proceedings.
Attorneys Gregory Gaskin, Nigel Hughes, Trenton Lake and George Thomas represented the three accused.
Karimbaksh told the court that the police, acting on information received, were made aware that the defendants were plotting to overthrow the government of Guyana. He added that based on intelligence that was gathered and investigations conducted by the police, the defendants were giving directives and instructions to certain persons to create mayhem in Guyana and unseat the government.
While police announced that four persons had been arrested in the case, only the three were charged yesterday. It is unclear who the fourth person is.
Police had said that the Munroes and Wharton, all of Soesdyke, were charged at CID headquarters, Eve Leary on Monday. Bruce Munroe, Karimbaksh told the court, is a serving member of the GDF, while Wharton is a former member. Wharton is also said to be the owner of La Chalet Guest House. Carol Ann Munroe, 39, a mother of three, is the headmistress of the Young Achievers Academy, a private school. Hughes later told the court that she suffers from schizophrenia and he requested that she be given the opportunity of an independent medical assessment so that there would be no quarrels about the validity of the claim.
Gaskin, who said the charges were baseless and trumped-up, requested an early date for the commencement of the preliminary inquiry so that the matter could be properly ventilated. He asserted that based on evidence gathered so far the police had “nothing against those charged” and the case could be dispensed with in a speedy manner.
He also urged an early start of the preliminary inquiry in order to ensure his clients are afforded a free and fair trial, in light of the media attention that the case has attracted. He said that when such attention is created by media frenzy, there is a tendency for the defendants to be judged by the public perceptions that are formed as opposed to the principles of law.
When Magistrate Sewnarine-Beharry enquired from Karimbaksh when the prosecution would be ready to proceed with the matter, he said “two months’ time.” The surprised magistrate then informed him that it would be too long a date. “Okay then. Within a month, I should say,” Karimbaksh then replied.
Hughes, meanwhile, noted that if investigations into the matter had been ongoing from as far as December 1, 2009, as stated in the charge, then the police ought to be in a position to speedily move forward with the proceedings. “Madam, the police have implicated my clients for a charge that goes as far back as December, 2009. They are therefore saying to this honourable court that the investigations have been active and now that they have instituted a charge they have all the evidence they need to proceed; so why do we need to wait longer? We need a short date!” he said, while adding that since the police had gotten legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), they must be ready to proceed.
