President Irfaan Ali last night accepted the resignation of Local Government Minister Nigel Dharamlall, hours after the DPP had advised the police that there was no basis to charge him with rape as the complainant had withdrawn the allegation.
Ali’s disclosure from Trinidad where he is attending a CARICOM Heads meeting followed weeks of public consternation after a 16-year-old girl alleged that she had been groomed and raped by Dharamlall last year. The allegations threatened to tarnish the government and analysts had said that with or without a charge Dharamlall would have to quit both Cabinet and Parliament. The collapse of the case against Dharamlall has also raised questions about whether pressure had been brought on the complainant at various points of the probe to have her recant after having held firmly to her position for weeks. There were also allegations of corruption surrounding the probe. Analysts had said that the PPP/C government would not have wanted to have the stain of a rape charge against one of its ministers.
Dharamlall’s departure came after dramatic developments in the last week where the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) returned the case file to the police and asked for further investigations. It is unclear what further investigations were sought but within a day and a half, the complainant signalled that she no longer wanted to proceed. With this new information, the file was returned by the police yesterday to Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack and within hours she returned the file with the advice that no charge could be brought.
The police relayed to the public her advice in a press release yesterday. Eve Leary said that yesterday morning the case file in relation to the allegation of rape made against Dharamlall was sent to the Office of the DPP based on advice for further investigations to be conducted. The DPP returned the file yesterday afternoon containing her legal opinion.
In her advice, the GPF said that the DPP disclosed that consideration was given to the fact that the complainant gave a further statement to investigators that she wished to withdraw her complaint against Dharamlall and that her decision was not influenced by anyone and that same was in her best interest.
The police said that the DPP also proffered her advice based on the fact that the virtual complainant’s statement was taken by a forensic interviewer in the presence of a parent, a Child Care officer and a Police officer and that such statement was free and voluntary.
“In light of the above, the Director of Public Prosecutions concluded that in the absence of the victim’s complaint, there is no legal provision for the Police to proceed with the matter”, the police said.
In his statement from Trinidad last night, Ali said: “Fellow Guyanese, as you’re aware, I am in Trinidad and Tobago attending the 45th session of the Heads of Govern-ment meeting of CARICOM and the 50th anniversary of CARICOM.
“Tonight I want to address you in relation to the allegation that was made against Minister Nigel Dharamlall.
“From the inception, I advised the population that I would allow the system to work. I would never and the government would never intervene in the system. We’ve allowed an independent investigation; the minister proceeded on leave to ensure that an independent investigation was conducted.
“The Police did their investigation and also all the other agencies, including the DPP.
“This evening, you’ve seen the statement from the DPP in which she has advised that she will not proceed on any charges against the minister based on all that is before her.
“However, Minister Dharamall has advised that he will tender his resignation as the interest of the government is important to him and he will not want anyone to bring the government into disrepute.
“He has also advised that these allegations have affected him personally and as such, he has offered to resign as minister and as a Member of Parliament.
“I’ve, therefore, accepted his resignation as a Cabinet Member and a Member of Parliament.
“Nigel Dharamlall has committed to me that he will continue to support and be a member of the People’s Progressive Party and also be supportive of the government.
“So, as I said before, we have allowed the system to work. We have not intervened; from day one, we said we must trust the system.
“Now that we have received the advice of the DPP, the Minister has asked to resign as Member of Cabinet and Member of Parliament and I’ve accepted that resignation”.
Dharamlall is the first ministerial casualty of the nearly three-year-old Ali administration and his departure come amid months of problems for the government including a fire at a Mahdia dorm in May that claimed the lives of 20 children and which has also raised questions about the accountability at ministerial and cabinet level.
The allegation of rape against Dharamlall would likely have presented thorny questions for the administration from some of its main bilateral and multilateral international partners given the heightened focus against abuse of women and girls. Despite the resignation of Dharamlall, analysts say that the government will still face awkward questions.
Prior to the allegation of rape, Dharamlall had been embroiled in a series of incidents that should have made him unfit for ministerial office but these were ignored and analysts said that he had been spared any serious disciplining as he had close ties with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo. One incident hat provoked revulsion had occurred in Parliament where he had told a female parliamentarian that she needed a dildo. The government, the PPP/C and the Speaker of the National Assembly had been accused of treating that matter lightly.
Dharamlall previously served as a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.
The Guyana Human Rights Association had said last week that given the public interest in the case the matter demands a trial.
Exchanged glances
Many questions have been raised about how the investigation was carried out. One particular issue was the fact that the complainant had returned to the location where the alleged rape occur. Yesterday, sources told Stabroek News that on the day the complainant visited the home, she exchanged glances with Dharamlall as he was present when she arrived.
This newspaper understands that on arrival at the house Dharamlall was sitting inside and at least three females were present at the home.
It was explained that the complainant had to ask her guardians at the time, the police, Childcare worker and others who accompanied her, why the Minister was there. It was then, the Childcare worker told her to return to the vehicle and engaged in a discussion with the lawyers concerning his presence there. The Childcare worker was told by the lawyers that Dharamlall was about to leave. Critics had said competent legal representation for the complainant would have prevented this from happening.
A source stated that prior to the forensic investigation and the allegation hitting the news, Dharamlall was in contact with the complainant and her parents. The complainant in her statement told investigators at one point she spoke with Dharamlall via her father’s phone as he was also in constant communication with her father.
It was also revealed that when the story broke, Dharamlall was in the region and reached out the family. The source related that the Minister later met with the father at Lake Capoey.
The 16-year-old said in the statement that when she communicated with Dharamlall her mother was present and he gave her President Irfaan Ali’s phone number to explain that the matter was resolved.
Additionally, it was related that her family went to the police to give a statement after her father met with Dharamlall on Friday, June 16.
Region Two Commander, Superintendent Khemraj Shivbaran, this newspaper had reported, took a statement from the 16-year-old complainant after the allegations were posted on social media.
“I never attempted to pervert the course of justice. They came to me with this screenshot of the information being shared on Facebook and said they have nothing to do with it,” he said, before adding “I acted professionally and if claims of rape or a report was made I would have followed the SOPs [Standard Operating Procedures],” Shivbaran had said in a response to Stabroek News’ questions on the heels of the allegations.
The family stated that they received a screenshot of a post in which Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul attributed statements to the 16-year-old, but the family denied this. Shivbaran stated that it was in light of that, that he took the statement. However, Mahipaul’s post did not mention anyone’s name but rather called for an investigation into the allegations.
The source revealed too, that the complainant said that during a WhatsApp call, Dharamlall also requested that the complainant and her mother make a Facebook post denying the story that was widely being shared
Since it was reported that the complainant had issued a No Further Action (NFA) statement, the conduct of non-governmental organisations (NGO) involved in the forensic interviewing has come under scrutiny as the complaint appeared on the verge of collapse.
The NGO, ChildLinK, has since come forward and denied any perceived harassment of the complainant.
ChildLinK said that in the current case of sexual abuse allegations against the Government Minister, “We wish to clearly outline the role of ChildLink as part of the investigative apparatus. The various disclosures that have been made regarding this young woman’s posture and position on this matter are regrettable and none can be attributed to ChildLinK including her last statements.
“While we would have preferred to maintain our usual and resolute discreet position in this case, we are constrained to respond to the concerns of the public regarding ChildLinK’s role in this matter. First, we wish to categorically distance ChildLinK from any actual or perceived involvement in any alleged harassment, fatigue or frustration of this young woman’s effort at justice.
“The confidential nature of the [Child Advocacy Centre] CAC is fully understood by ChildLinK and has never been in question. We have observed all protocols with key stakeholders requiring the services of the CAC over the years and to date have never breached this practice.
“We understand the gravity of this current case and the immense mental stress this child has and continues to endure. This places a greater responsibility on ChildLinK to respect her dignity and that of every child who participates in our programme.”
Meanwhile, GHRA in its statement said that despite the public’s overwhelming negative reaction to the incident, it is forced to conclude that government leaders continue to see nothing in the pattern of Dharamlall’s behaviour that even merits a rebuke. It went a step further to state that this stance “has all the hallmarks of the suspect being in a position to embarrass others if action were taken against him.”
According to the GHRA, police in more professional jurisdictions would not have encouraged the victim to ‘throw in the towel’, and in this case, there is reason to suspect that political action was geared to the exact opposite.
The release then delved into the process of prosecution. It contended that the Director of Public Prosecutions has two lines of enquiry to pursue in determining whether to lay charges in a case: the first is the reliability and credibility of the evidence collected and handed over by the police. The second consideration, however, relates to whether prosecution of a particular case is in the public interest. It was argued that public interest concerns, as set out in the Code for Prosecutors in Guyana, must take into account such matters as the age of the victim, whether a relationship of trust existed between offender and victim, whether the victim’s race or financial circumstances were relevant. Any evidence of such motivation renders a prosecution more likely. Further, public interest considerations in not holding a trial usually turn on whether the victim would suffer greater harm from a trial.
It also mentioned that a significant stumbling block in the prosecution of rape cases is fear. It includes fear of publicity; fear of impact on marriage prospects; fear the offender will not be found guilty; fear that the police, witnesses and court officials will accept bribes; fear of not being believed; fear rooted in ignorance of the court process; fear of interference with evidence, witnesses and juries; fear rooted in abusers being family or acquaintances; fear of cross-examination; fear of harassment from the perpetrator and his family. Such fears effectively quell momentum for change from the side of the victim. The cumulative effect of fear is trauma primarily in victims, but also in their families and in the larger society, which if untreated by sensitive professional services remains with the victim for life.
As such, the GHRA pointed out, public interest considerations in the Dharamlall case point heavily in support of the need for a trial: “the imbalance in power, the indigenous background and age of the victim together with a prior record of publicized instances of public sexual harassment and humiliation of women all encourage this conclusion.”
The case in question surfaced some two weeks ago, after several screenshots appeared online of a statement by the girl detailing her claim of rape by the minister earlier in the year.
A few days after the screenshots surfaced, the public was informed by the police that an investigation into the matter had been launched and Dharamlall was later arrested. After several hours, he was released on station bail in the sum of $1 million.
Dharamlall has also been on administrative leave to permit the investigation to proceed. President Ali has been criticised for not taking decisive action after he became aware of the allegation. His decision yesterday to accept Dharamlall’s resignation rather than taking positive action has also been seen as a sign of weakness.
