Transparency International Guyana Inc. is calling on President Irfaan Ali to act on allegations of rape and threatening behaviour against the Head of the Special Organised Crime Unit, Deputy Commissioner of Police Fazil Karimbaksh.
In a statement on Monday, the anti-corruption body said it has no confidence in the unnamed police team set up by the Commissioner of Police to investigate the allegations, which were reportedly made by a serving police rank.
TIGI said the police have not disclosed who is on the team, its reporting structure, whether its members are junior to Karimbaksh, or what measures are in place to protect the complainant and witnesses.
The organisation is calling for an independent investigation outside the police chain of command, and for Karimbaksh to be removed from operational duties pending its outcome. It stressed that administrative leave is not a punishment or a finding of guilt.
TIGI also said it is alarmed by Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond’s reference to a “formal confrontation” between the complainant and the accused. It noted that Section 42 of the Sexual Offences Act protects complainants from having to recount their complaint in the presence of the accused unless they wish to do so.
The body said the Police Service Commission, which has disciplinary control over senior officers, is not presently constituted, and called on the President to ensure it is established without further delay.
TIGI said due process for the accused must be respected, but that does not mean institutional passivity.