THE glaring revelation in the Linden Commission of Inquiry’s final report, exonerating Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee from any misdemeanour, is living proof of the
arguments advanced in favour of his integrity, President Donald Ramotar said yesterday.
The government intends to make a full statement on the Linden COI report which President Ramotar received on Thursday.
The report was handed over to the President by chairman of the independent COI, retired Jamaican Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe, after the Commission concluded investigations into the death of three protestors in Linden following a standoff with security forces over the newly proposed electricity tariff for Region 10.
The Commission was mandated as well to inquire what, if any, specific instructions were issued by the Minister of Home Affairs to the Guyana Police Force to maintain law and order in Linden on that day.
The COI was required to make recommendations for compensation, where necessary, for injuries, losses or damage suffered as a consequence of the events of July 18, 2012.
A total of 71 witnesses were examined when the hearing got under way by the five member panel of jurists that also included Justices Keith D. Knight of Jamaica, Claudette Singh, and Cecil Kennard, and Dana Seetahal S.C. of Trinidad and Tobago.
Minister Rohee, who was also called to the witness stand, was the subject of a no-confidence motion passed by the one-seat majority opposition in the Parliament and a gag order that the court ruled was unconstitutional.
Throughout the minister’s ordeal, he was backed by the People’s Progressive Party / Civic (PPP/C), including the Head of State who brushed off the opposition’s call for him to resign after the no-confidence motion was passed.
“He (Minister Rohee) never acted in any way to bring his ministry, the government or our country in any disrepute. That was to me very important… all the problems and all the issues that were made… all the things happening in the Parliament and the court has shown that we were on the side of defending the rule of law and defending our Constitution and defending our parliament,” President Ramotar said in an invited comment to the Government Information Agency (GINA) yesterday.
He had minutes before handed over copies of the COI report to A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Leader David Granger and Alliance for Change’s Khemraj Ramjattan.
The Commission began its work on September 24, 2012, in the Family Court building and adjourned on November 2, 2012, during which period, members of the Guyana Police Force and Commissioner of Police (ag) Leroy Brumell gave testimony to the Commission, along with other persons who claimed to have been present when the events took place.