In further testimony before the elections inquiry, former Region Four Police Commander, Edgar Thomas yesterday insisted that ex-Top Cop, Leslie James had instructed him to clear the Ashmins building on March 5th, 2020.
Reappearing before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the March 2nd 2020 general elections, Thomas said that James was a “stranger to the truth”.
Thomas was asked about a call he received from the Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), retired Justice of Appeal, Claudette Singh.
He explained that the Chair confirmed to him that she had phoned the then Inspector of Police, Prem Narine on March 5th and “he should not be actually facing the penalty of any criminal offence because she did call him and she was also looking for bail for him.”
He said he told the Chairwoman that the matter was in the hands of the then Police Commissioner James and there was nothing he could do at that stage as it relates to Inspector Narine.
In her testimony before the CoI on December 8 last year, Singh had reported that she had accidentally called Narine on March 5th during confusion at the GECOM District Four office at the Ashmins building and had told him that she was not feeling well. Narine and others later turned up at the office to check on her wellbeing.
Former Commissioner of Police James when he appeared before the CoI had testified that after “mayhem” erupted at the GECOM Command Centre at the Ashmins building on May 5th, 2020, he had deployed additional security to the building but his plan was foiled as Thomas had been unreachable.
A printout of phone call records from March 5, 2020 and March 6, 2020 presented to the CoI yesterday showed that there were 18 calls between Thomas and James over the period. Also during that time, there were 16 phone calls between Thomas and then Deputy Commissioner of Police, Maxine Graham, and seven phone calls between Thomas and then former head of the Special Branch, Nigel Hoppie.
Questioned about where all the calls came from, Thomas said, “from my recollection and looking at the document it was clear that those calls came from the same place, Police Headquarters, Young Street, Eve Leary”.
Further, when asked directly by Commissioner, retired Justice Carl Singh about James’ claim that he (James) had made repeated efforts to contact Thomas but could not get him on the phone, Thomas replied, “Commissioner (James) at that stage is a stranger to the truth.”
Thomas asserted that the phone records reflect that he was in constant contact with his superiors including the then commissioner. He stressed, that throughout the day on March 5, 2020, he periodically communicated with James and others “until the commissioner (James) refused to take my calls” after 9 pm.
When James appeared before the CoI he had also claimed that at no time did any instruction come from him to clear the Ashmins building, however, Thomas yesterday, as he had done in his earlier testimony before the CoI on November 4th, 2022, gave a different account of what transpired.
Commissioner Singh questioned whether Thomas was aware that then Deputy Chief Election Officer (DCEO) Roxanne Myers wanted the building cleared at some point and Thomas confirmed the same, noting that he was personally asked to clear the building and that he was requested to remove Sase Gunraj, PPP/C GECOM Commissioner, which he refused to do.
Myers yesterday released a memo she penned to GECOM Chair Singh denying that there was a directive from her to evict Gunraj. (See other story on page 14.)
Thomas was then asked whether he was aware that Tactical Services Unit (TSU) ranks eventually carried out those orders, and Thomas said yes. He said, “The then-Commissioner James told me if I don’t want to get the people out of the building he will get the job done.” This he said was told to him before the arrival of TSU.
Commissioner Singh noted that James had claimed that he gave instructions to the TSU to “secure the building”, however, Thomas once more said that James seems to be a stranger to the truth since the instructions were to clear the building.
Thomas, as he had also done on November 4, 2022, related that a relative of a former deputy permanent secretary was the suspect in the bomb threat at the Ashmins building.
He also said that the former deputy permanent secretary had phoned him requesting bail for her relative.
Thomas said, that on March 5, 2020, “I received a call from one Miss Van Sluytman who at the time was the deputy PS, I cannot remember the ministry, I think was Business (Ministry) and requested bail for her relative who was the suspect with the mischievous phone call, the bomb threat.”
No charges were ever filed as it relates to the call of a bomb threat at the location.
