Marcelle Joseph’s dismissal from the Office of the President (OP) was unjustified, the Alliance for Change (AFC) said yesterday, while condemning the intimidation of her family.
Saying that the government wronged Joseph, the party staged a peaceful protest outside of OP yesterday, and about two dozen participants were initially asked by police to remove from outside of OP and assemble at either nearby South Road or Vlissingen Road.
AFC Presidential Candidate Khemraj Ramjattan, who was among the first set of persons on the picket line, declined to move, saying that he had to consult with party leader Raphael Trotman before such a decision could be made. Ramjattan informed the police rank that they were “protesting peacefully and were no threat to the office.”
Joseph, a junior-level OP employee, was reportedly sacked on the allegation that she leaked information to the press. But OP has denied this claim, saying that her contract was terminated after she entered the Permanent Secretary’s Secretariat without permission and copied and tampered with records. Joseph has since fled the country and is in the US.
Ramjattan told Stabroek News yesterday that the AFC’s presence on the picket line was to make a call for fundamental rights and demand justice for those who justice is not being directed to, including Joseph. He said the government is sending a message that fear must be driven into “any and everybody this election year, to the extent that people must remain silent… people like Marcelle.”
Ramjattan said mal-governance is rife within OP and called the recent disclosures surrounding Joseph’s sacking a vindication of what the AFC has been saying all the time. “I hope that she [Joseph] releases the information she has because the AFC has been saying for a long time now that a lot of mischief is going on there with respect to procurement, contracts, service contracts etc.,” he said.
The fact that Joseph had to flee the country points to harassment, Ramjattan said, while noting that the treatment her family is being subjected to is wrong. He noted that Joseph had to run and leave a little child behind and he said that this was not acceptable in a democracy.
According to Ramjattan, the government will likely manufacture evidence against Joseph now. “I don’t doubt that fabricated evidence could easily come up against her for all manner of things,” he added.
Meanwhile, Trotman explained that the party was in solidarity in the struggle against corruption, abuse of power and other “high-handedness” from the government. He said that on a daily basis this “inept and corrupt” government is providing more reasons people have to join hands and protest against the ills in the society.
Trotman argued that Guyanese should not be blinded by issues such as Mashramani because the problems remain at the end of the day. He said the party disapproves of Joseph’s arbitrary dismissal and as a result decided to stage a peaceful protest.
On the issue of Joseph’s family, he said that the visit to the woman’s home by police was clearly an act of intimidation. “They know she was out of the country, so why turn up there?” he asked. He continued that if the woman’s mother desires, there are AFC lawyers willing to help.
President of the Guyana Trades Union Congress Norris Witter was also on the picket line and he said the union is prepared to join any group to protest “the atrocities” committed against Joseph. He noted that even if the PPP comes out to protest Joseph’s dismissal, the union will join them.
Activists Mark Benschop and Freddie Kissoon also joined the protest. The AFC protest lasted for about an hour and they remained in front of OP for the period. Ramjattan said they were not breaking any laws. “We would like to embrace our right to freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, particularly in light of an injustice done to a sister,” he said.
Police searched Joseph’s home on Thursday and questioned her mother, Jennifer Haynes, about a flash drive and her daughter’s whereabouts. Haynes said that four plainclothes police officers turned up at her home and sought permission to conduct the search.
The woman said she felt compelled to agree and the men searched the home, saying that they were looking for a flash drive with sensitive information. Haynes noted that the men told her they were acting on instructions from OP and they asked where Marcelle Joseph was. She told them her daughter’s whereabouts were not her business and she refused to entertain further questions on the issue.
OP later said in a statement that Joseph “apparently downloaded routine information” which was stored on the computer in the Permanent Secretary’s Secretariat. It said the financial documents were nothing secretive as they were expenditures captured in the national estimates. OP added that “It was the unauthorized entry into the Permanent Secretary’s Secretariat, the copying and tampering with records that led to the termination of her contract subsequent to being interviewed by both the Permanent Secretary and the Minister of the Public Service Ministry on her wrongdoing.”
