Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman has said investigators from the Guyana Police Force have reported to his lawyers that the file on sexual molestation allegations against him has been returned from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and they are about to complete the investigation.
Trotman, who said he has cooperated fully with the investigating ranks and had given a statement, is confident that he would not be charged and truth will win out.
“I am confident that I will not be charged because there is nothing to charge me for… because the lies that were exposed were too many,” Trotman told the Sunday Stabroek in a recent interview when asked about the case.
Last year, Johnny Welshman went public with allegations that Trotman had sexually molested him as a child.
Trotman and the Alliance For Change (AFC) have said the allegations were politically-motivated, with the aim of destroying him, but Welshman has maintained that he is speaking the truth and that he is not linked to any political party.
While he believes he would not be charged, Trotman revealed that the day the allegations were made was his worse day as Speaker.
Following the allegations, Trotman, through his lawyer, had moved to the High Court and was granted an injunction barring Welshman from making slanderous statements against him in the media and also to remove such information from his Facebook page. It was a move that was criticised by some, who likened it to the now dead commissioner Henry Greene moving to the court to successfully challenge the DPP’s advice to charge him with rape.
However, when asked about this issue Trotman pointed out he never attempted to suppress the police prosecution but rather the slander that was being perpetuated against him.
“I actually wanted the police investigation to go ahead but in the meantime I can’t just sit down and allow you to come up with a lie and I must sit down and smile…,” he stated.
In no way was the police investigation impeded, Trotman said, adding that he has had no direct contact with the police and updates about the case were given to his lawyer.
Trotman said based on all the information available to him, he is satisfied that the accusation was politically-motivated and he was disappointed that “persons who hold themselves out as national leaders would sink to such depths.
“But sometimes it gives me a reality check that for some people acquiring power and holding power, it is not child’s sports, it is serious business. And therefore you would go to any end to hold it.”
He recalled that years ago in a meeting he had complained about statements made against the AFC claiming that one of its financers was linked to drug trafficking and a senior government official indicated to him that they “were competing for the same souls.” He said he took the statement to mean that anything would be said and done to stay on top or destroy individuals.
Asked about the impact the allegations has had on his life, Trotman pointed out that “when you go to battle you get scars, some of them you wear it as badges as honour and some of them you are ashamed of.” He said while there would be a scar, it would not be a defining one because he has been strengthened by the support he has received from a wide cross section of people in and outside of Guyana. “So the point is in politics you are going to take blows and then you can share blows. That’s the nature of politics; sometimes it gets a little rough but this will not define me and it will not hinder me,” he said.
What happened to him is something Trotman would not wish on anyone, not even his dog, he said.
