Dear Editor,
In a recent address to a police conference, Commissioner of Police, Mr Leroy Brumell, went out of his way to shower praises on the embattled Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Clement Rohee, who is the subject of an opposition no confidence motion. The Commissioner‘s remarks, as expected, provoked the wrath of the parliamentary parties. Mr David Granger, the leader of the APNU is quoted as saying that Mr Brumell’s public endorsement of Mr Rohee is unprofessional conduct and he should be sanctioned. Mr Khemraj Ramjattan, the leader of the AFC, called on the Commissioner to pay attention to the crime situation in the country.
Notwithstanding the opposition’s criticism of him the police chief was seemingly unmoved and further compounded the problem by saying that he, “sees nothing wrong with giving support to his boss.” I believe that Mr Brumell has been emboldened to publicly endorse the Minister in spite of the opposition’s no confidence motion in the Minister and criticism of Brumell himself, because of the failure of the APNU and AFC to show solidarity with Dr David Hinds and the WPA when he, Mr Brumell, chose to become a PPP/C politician and made inappropriate statements in relation to the WPA leadership and Buxton. Rather than condemning the police chief for his unprofessional behaviour, the opposition parties assumed the opportunistic position of ‘silence’ not wanting to antagonize him.
By taking this position they were most likely hoping to be able to win him to their side. If that was the case it was an act of great short-sightedness on their part. If they had taken appropriate action against Mr Brumell when he donned his political coat he would have given great thought of the consequences of flying in the face of the political opposition and publicly endorsing his ‘boss.‘ The Commissioner’s endorsement of Mr Rohee should act as a motivator to the opposition to get its act together or Guyana will continue to be endangered and slide further down the slippery slope because of its willingness to adopt positions of convenience when more decisive action is called for.
I fully support the opposition’s condemnation of the Commissioner of Police for his political endorsement of Minister Rohee. Even in politics it is better to see the light late than to never see it at all.
Yours faithfully,
Tacuma Ogunseye
