While declaring that his intention is not to be “unduly critical to any magistrate,” nor to bring the administration of justice into disrepute, Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC has lamented what he described as the slothful progress in the Magistrate’s Courts of the criminal matters stemming from the March 2nd, 2020 General Elections.
Nandlall said that as minister responsible for and over the justice sector, he has a duty to speak out when the cases are not being processed, heard and determined with the alacrity that they deserve.
He made the comments on Tuesday night during his weekly Facebook programme, “Issues in the News.”
The Attorney General (AG) said that more than a year after they were brought, the 32 criminal matters stemming from charges instituted following the March 2020 polls, are still pending before the Magistrate’s Court.
Nandlall who is also Minister of Legal Affairs, said that he has spoken to Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack SC who has indicated to him that Magistrates are not hearing the matters with the speed they should.
“Magistrates within the system are not proceeding with the matters with the seriousness and the expediency with which they should, having regard to the importance of the matter and having regard to the length of time that the matters are pending before them;” the AG said the DPP told him.
Noting that some Magistrates have made applications to recuse themselves from hearing the matters, Nandlall said that some are also simply not determining whether the cases should remain and be tried in the Magistrate’s Court, or be sent for trial before a Judge and jury in the High Court.
These, he said, are procedural decisions which Magistrates have to make in determining how the cases should proceed…”and Magistrates have not been making that decision,” he said.
He said that while one Magistrate has taken the decision that one of those matters be tried indictably—and that particular matter is currently being appealed—it represents only one charge out of 32.
Nandlall said that he has made strong representations to his counterpart Ali-Hack, in expressing his concern about the slow pace at which the cases are being dealt with in the Magistrate’s Court; for her to then ensure that the appropriate representations are made, for them to be dispensed with greater alacrity and “treated with the type of seriousness that they deserve.”
The AG then went on to say he hopes that his comments would not be “twisted or misinterpreted” to mean that he is being unduly critical to any Magistrate, or that he is ascribing improper motive to any of them.
He said that his intention is also not to bring the administration of justice into disrepute nor is he attempting in any form or fashion influence the outcome of any case “because I am doing no such thing. And I want to make that abundantly clear,” he asserted.
“I am expressing views that I am duty-bound to express” as Minister of Legal Affairs and my views are carefully constructed and expressed, the AG then concluded.
Just a few weeks ago, this newspaper reported that the cases brought against officers of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in the wake of the March 2nd, 2020 general elections have been adjourned until October 6th and two new applications have been made by the state’s prosecutors.
Stabroek News understands that the two applications which were made before the Chief Magistrate were for the thirty-plus charges to be tried before one Magistrate, rather than three.
The various cases were tabled to be called before the Chief Magistrate, Principal Magistrate Sherdel Issacs-Marcus, and Senior Magistrate Leron Daly.
The second application was for some particulars of the charges to be amended, since it is believed that those amendments will make a case that all of the defendants played a crucial role in the conspiracy to deceive the citizens of Guyana.
Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan adjourned the matters until October 6 when she said that the applications will be heard and a decision may or may not be made then.
The defendants, Chief Election Officer, Keith Lowenfield; Deputy Chief Election Officer, Roxanne Myers; District Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo; member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Volda Lawrence, and others.
They are accused of conspiring to inflate the results of Region Four – Guyana’s largest voting district – to give the APNU+AFC coalition a majority win at the polls. The dispute over the District Four vote count had led to a 35-day recount which was scrutinised by CARICOM and various observer groups. The recount had then determined that the PPP/C had won the elections. Following several legal challenges, the declaration of the results was made five months after March 2nd.
It is alleged that Lowenfield, Myers and Mingo, between March 2, 2020 and August 2, 2020, conspired with each other and together with Volda Lawrence, Carol Smith-Joseph, Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Bobb-Cummings, Michelle Miller, and others, to defraud the electors of Guyana by declaring a false account of votes cast for the General Elections of March 2nd.
Lawrence and Mingo were also charged with intent to defraud. It is alleged that they uttered a report, alleging to be a true declaration of all votes cast in District Four for the March 2nd, 2020, general and regional elections, knowing that the report was false.
It is further alleged that Joseph conspired with Mingo and others to declare a fraudulent count of votes for District Four.
Fraud charges were also brought against several GECOM workers – Michelle Miller, Denise Bob Cummings, Sheffern February and Enrique Livan – who are all on bail.
