Guyanese must raise their voices in

unison

Guyana, like any other country has its share of public scandals: when these occur, the need for thorough investigation, justice and closure is especially important. Very often, the need for closure is inextricably tied to the system of justice, which in this country is notoriously slow and transparently flawed. And we speak not only of the judiciary.
Since most Guyanese believe in the axiom that justice delayed is justice denied, then the slothfulness of the justice system means justice is very often denied. As such, many public scandals continue to fester without resolution through justice and, therefore, without appropriate closure.
The need for closure is particularly glaring when there are scandals involving high-level functionaries, and those in positions of responsibility and expected trust such as law enforcement officers, whose duties require the utmost integrity.
When such officers are the subjects of allegations of impropriety or criminal conduct, members of the public reasonably expect full and timely investigations. They also anticipate that the officers in question will be either exonerated or prosecuted, without undue delay.
Unfortunately, when such scandals arise in Guyana, they are seldom pursued in a way that results in the type of closure the public expects. The news is replete with examples of this.
The details of many of these cases are common knowledge and most times those details are consistent. In other words, the facts are determined in the quickest possible time and those providing the facts are unwavering in their conviction.
In the interest of decency, accountability, fairness, and most importantly, peace and security, ways must be found to rid the system of the embarrassing bureaucracy, which sometimes shifts the focus and allows for hollow debate.
The matter involving 15-year-old Alex Griffith, who was shot in his mouth by a policeman, no less than a Cadet Officer, is fast becoming a scandal of immense proportions. The details have been publicized and to a great extent, verified and established. There is no need to repeat them.
What is interesting, however, is the awkwardness that abounds with respect to official procedure, namely blurred timelines, perceived truthfulness and lack of communication.
It beggars belief how this matter has already attracted these negative characteristics.
The Police Office of Professional Responsibility on Tuesday last (May 13), issued a release to indicate that it has completed investigations. It said the file had been forwarded to the Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) that same day.
Coincidentally, this publication had minutes earlier sought perspective on the issue from the PCA Chairman, Justice Cecil Kennard, and he somewhat intuitively declared that there would be “no cover-up”.
Interestingly, contrary to the information provided in the release, Justice Kennard later confirmed that he had in fact not received the file.
The PCA Chairman was emphatic that “I left my office at about five o’clock (pm) and I did not receive any file. If my Secretary had received it, she would have brought it to me immediately”.
Suffice it to say that the receipt of such an important document would undoubtedly have engaged his attention.
This is but a small sampling of the confusion that exists in a needlessly drawn-out system.
It is head-scratching developments in scandals such as this one – the inexplicable shooting of a 15-year-old boy by an individual in authority who alleges that the teen witnessed a crime – that have created the even more pressing need for closure.
Indeed, official reports on the progress of this investigation have been extremely hard to come by.
The net effect of these unnecessarily prolonged scandals has been to leave certain public figures under suspicion, as well as to give credence to the public’s perception that the justice system in this country has been compromised, perhaps irretrievably.
If the officials affected by the scandals are innocent, they do not deserve to have their names tarnished. If they are guilty, they have undeservedly eluded justice for too long.
It is sad that such unresolved scandals tend to persist indefinitely in this country, but it would be much worse if the public did not make known their acute dissatisfaction with this state of affairs, in the strongest possible terms.
Guyanese must raise their voices in unison and press relentlessly for the timely closure of all public scandals concerning issues that deeply affect their lives.