The mother of three of the boys allegedly raped by Muslim Scholar Nezaam Ali reported to the police a few weeks ago that persons have been taking photographs of her sons which she sees as an act of intimidation.
Overcome with frustration and on the brink of tears, the woman expressed the belief that attempts are being made to drive fear into her and her children. She said what is even more frightening is that two months after the police announced that charges will be reinstituted against Ali in connection with the alleged rape, he is yet to make a court appearance.
Speaking to Sunday Stabroek last week she recalled that a few weeks ago, she saw a man on a parked motor cycle across from her home with a cellphone taking pictures of her sons who were sitting on the bridge leading to the house. She said that the man worships at the same Masjid that Ali is from. She said that there was another occasion when another man took photographs of her eldest son who was with friends a few doors from his home.
She said that her troubles began about a month ago when it was publicly confirmed that key pieces of evidence were missing from the case files which resulted in the detectives later visiting her home for her to sign copies of the statements that her sons had given prior to Ali being charged. “These two brothers does deh passing and teking it out with phone. The woman who is also a Muslim said that she was familiar with the men and knew that they attended the same place of worship as Ali.
Ali of 268, Section ‘C’, 5 South Turkeyen was charged in 2012 with raping nine boys.
The charges alleged that between December 2011 and January 2012, Ali, being a teacher attached to the Turkeyen Masjid, engaged in sexual activity with the children, abusing a position of trust. He was placed on a total of $1,300,000 bail.
The allegations of the abuse first came to light when the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) received an anonymous tip and officials there began an investigation that led them to the boys, who were then between the ages of four and ten.
The police were inform-ed of the situation and after the boys were examined, Ali, who was employed with the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana, was arrested, released on station bail and subsequently charged. Ali was also sent on leave, pending the outcome of the case.
He was committed to stand trial in 2014. Shortly after the committal, his lawyer Nigel Hughes filed an action in the High Court to have the committal overturned. However this was rejected by the court and it was ruled that the committal will remain.
The woman said that following the photographing incidents she visited a police station where she reported to the ranks what had transpired. The ranks, she said told her that they will make a record of her complaint. “They telling me how I must be careful and a lot of nonsense”, she said, clearly frustrated.
However newly appointed `C’ Division Commander Calvin Brutus when contacted on Friday said that he made checks and the records show that no such report was made by the woman. He told Sunday Stabroek that he has since instructed a police sergeant to speak with the woman.
The mother repeatedly insisted that she raised the issue with the police and no action was taken.
She told this newspaper that she is dissatisfied with lack of action by the police and said she is weary of running around trying to get those in authority to take the matter seriously and act swiftly to ensure that Ali is tried for the alleged crimes he committed.
“I am losing it every day. I have never seen so much barefacedness, presumptuousness and injustice in my life”, she said.
Matter for court
Brutus said that the file is being “reconstructed” so that the matter can go before the court.
It was Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum who had revealed that charges will be reinstituted against Ali, a move which will result in a fresh Preliminary Inquiry (PI) being conducted.
“The DPP has instructed that we conduct further investigations and has given directives which we are dealing with and once complete we will be reinstituting charges,” Blanhum had said.
It was during a visit to the Supreme Court in January this year that the mother of three of the boys and an official from CCPA discovered that the birth certificates and medicals for the boys were missing from each of the nine files.
The DPP subsequently confirmed that the documents were indeed missing.
DPP Public Relations Officer Liz Rahaman had told this newspaper in March that on perusing the files and determining that documents were indeed missing, “advice was given to the Guyana Police Force for them to obtain copies of documents that were found to be missing.” Based on what Rahaman had said previously, this was done in February.
The frustrated mother had told this newspaper that it was a clerk who showed them the case files, but certain documents were not inside. Her boys are now aged 15, 13 and 11.
While fighting back tears, she had explained that it was on the insistence of a CCPA official that the collection officer (name given) at the Vigilance Court sent the files to the Supreme Court. She said that after realizing that the documents were missing, the clerk was asked what the next step was and he responded that the Regis-trar will have to make a note and send the files to the DPP. The woman said that based on her understanding the DPP would then send the files to court, but she was not told for what reason.
She also expressed concern about the DPP’s chambers being involved in the review of the matter given that DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack and Ali are from the same religious background.
The boys’ mother said that for months she has tried to get the attention of several key government officials. She has written to President David Granger but is yet to receive a response. She also visited the Ministry of Social Protection, while Volda Lawrence was minister and Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, but got no help.
The woman recounted some of the cruel treatment her sons have endured since the alleged incident took place.
She said recalled that one time during fasting period she and the boys were at a city place of worship. She said that everyone was fed except her boys and when she inquir-ed she was first told that they could not get any food because they were not fasting. Subsequently, she said that the leader of the place of worship, told her not to bring the children back.
The woman said that this pained her because it was she who would clean up the dirty washroom and wash dishes; a job that she was not paid enough for. She said that many times, when it was time to be paid her wages, “they didn’t want to pay my price”.
She said that whenever the boys would attempt to visit masjids, they were scorned and shunned and added that the children are trying to live normal lives but it is hard.
According to the woman, when the police came to her home for her to sign the statement they said the one for one of her sons could not be found. She said too that she would like to have copies of the other two statements in the event that they disappear a second time.
“No action has been made in this matter suh they just making us a fool”, she said, adding that this is the first time she is seeing a case of this nature “teking all these twist and turns and go round”.
