Former Region Four Police Commander, Edgar Thomas, while being cross-examined yesterday before the elections inquiry insisted that ranks of the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) went rogue at the Ashmins building where Gecom’s Command Centre was during the 2020 elections.
He said he believed that then opposition-appointed Gecom Commissioner, Sase Gunraj’s life was under threat at that time.
The cross-examination was done by attorney at law Nigel Hughes on behalf of his client, former Deputy Chief Election Officer (DCEO) Roxanne Myers who was also present during the proceedings. A day earlier, Myers had appeared before the Commission and declined to testify.
Under cross-examination, Thomas said he formed the opinion that Gunraj’s life was in danger after heavily armed members of the TSU, whom he did not request to be present, entered the building.
He said, “After my colleagues (police officers) would have entered the Ashmins building heavily armed I would have said to Mr. Gunraj that I can no longer protect his life and safety because I am no longer in control of the operations.”
Asked whether he perceived the threat to Gunraj’s life to come from the “armed policemen”, Thomas said, “Yes!”
He then added that at that stage he considered those ranks “rogue.”
Pressed about where the rogue elements came from, he said he formed the opinion that the rogue elements came from the TSU at that time.
Under re-examination, Thomas, who had been demoted by the police force over the incident at the Ashmins building, explained that it is the force’s Commissioner who would normally have to deploy the TSU to a location. He said the ranks of the TSU after arriving at a location would then function under the commander, however, he insisted that at no time did he request the TSU to go to the Ashmins building.
According to Thomas, who is now in charge of the presidential guard, he reported the arrival of the TSU to then Deputy Commissioner of Police, Maxine Graham telling her “that the TSU entered the Ashmins building where I did not request them. I am not in control of them as a result I would be unable to answer for their behaviour.”
Asked what evidence led to him forming the opinion that Gunraj’s life was under threat, Thomas explained that two TSU ranks first visited the location and spoke to him during which he indicated that he did not need their service. However, he said, they then exited the building and “returned heavily armed.”
He was also asked whether he thought the other Gecom commissioners including opposition-appointed Commissioner, Vincent Alexander or the GECOM Chairwoman, Claudette Singh’s life could have been in danger at that time also, but Thomas confirmed that only Gunraj was there at that time.
Thomas was then questioned if before the arrival of the ranks whether there was some amount of “chaos” in the building with people outside of the chairwoman’s door banging and shouting. However, Thomas said that he wouldn’t consider that chaos, adding, “my understanding is there was a controllable circumstance.”
He noted, that while he was in the building and not upstairs he was aware that the chairwoman was “safely placed in a room.”
Clear the building
Meanwhile, Thomas, yesterday confirmed that on the morning of March 5, 2020, he received a report of a bomb threat. He said, while he was not present when the bomb squad arrived at the location, he was present at one point when they were still there.
Thomas was then asked whether the situation could have become dangerous given that there was a bomb threat and the building was not cleared. He said, there were several efforts by him to clear the building then all of which were unsuccessful.
Asked whether he had observed Myers speaking to the staff of Gecom and requesting them to leave at that time, Thomas said, “No”.
However, according to Thomas, in the evening, Myers gave the order to clear the building which he did not pay heed to as he informed her and his superiors that there were election materials that needed to be secured.
“Clearing the building… Telling me she want people out of the building”, Thomas said. He added that Myers told him around 6 pm, “Everyone must get out of the building including Mr. Sase Gunraj.”
Myers in a memo to the Gecom Chair Claudette Singh on March 19th 2020 had denied giving an instruction for the eviction of Gunraj.
Thomas said that Myers did not indicate whether the commission’s business for the day had come to an end, and nor did she have the authority to give such an order since she was not the returning officer.
Questioned whether he intended to secure the election materials himself, Thomas said, “It was my intention to ensure that they were properly secured.”
Meanwhile, Thomas was directly asked whether he was implying that Myers asked him to clear the building since she had ulterior motives to which he responded “unable to answer your question.”
The Commission’s counsel Senior Counsel Sophia Chote, who is leading evidence in the inquiry then argued that it was unfair to ask the witness such a question since although he might have his suspicions, it is not his place to give an opinion.
The Commission eventually ruled that the question should not be posed to Thomas.
Hughes was repeatedly reminded yesterday that he was being facilitated to cross-examine the witnesses as it relates to any implication of his client and not the circumstances surrounding the situation in its totality.
Gecom’s Information Technology (IT) manager Aneal Giddings was also cross-examined yesterday along with the Assistant Registration Officer of GECOM, Alexandra Sophia Bowman, and Rosalinda Rasul, who was an accredited observer for the Guyana-American Chamber of Commerce during the elections.
Giddings, whose immediate superior was Myers, was asked about being accused by Myers of removing the server from the building and placing it into his car to which he responded that the “SOP does not specifically state where it should be placed.”
During re-examination, he noted that there was no disciplinary action taken against him for any matter.
The CoI will continue today when it is expected that Gunraj will appear to be cross-examined.
