标签： Guyana

A high-stakes legal and institutional standoff has erupted in Guyana’s top law enforcement circles, after a senior police commander facing sexual assault allegations from a subordinate has refused to step aside for an ongoing probe, arguing that the body legally empowered to enforce disciplinary action against him does not currently exist.

Deputy Police Commissioner Fazil Karimbaksh, who also heads the Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) elite Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), was instructed by Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken in an October 7 correspondence to take either administrative or pre-retirement leave while the investigation into his alleged conduct unfolds. The GPF publicly confirmed the leave order on October 8, adding that the female police inspector who filed the rape and threatening behavior claims against Karimbaksh had already been reassigned from SOCU to the force’s Regional Police Division 4 ‘A’ as part of the process.

However, Karimbaksh has rejected the order outright through his legal counsel, Rizwaun Mohamed, who outlined his client’s position in a formal response letter dated October 10. In the letter, Mohamed directly challenged Hicken’s legal authority to impose the compulsory leave, arguing that no applicable statutory power or written delegation has ever granted the police commissioner the right to remove a deputy commissioner from active duty.

The core of Karimbaksh’s legal argument rests on Guyana’s institutional framework for police governance. Under the nation’s Constitution, formal disciplinary control over deputy police commissioners falls exclusively to the independent Police Service Commission (PSC), a body that requires a written delegation of authority to issue such directives. Currently, the PSC is not constituted, meaning it has no sitting members to exercise these disciplinary powers. Mohamed emphasized that the vacancy of the PSC does not automatically transfer its constitutional authority to the police commissioner or any other state body.

“A general reliance upon command authority does not resolve the distinct question of the legal basis for compelling my client’s absence,” Mohamed wrote in the letter. “Any such vacancy does not, of itself, transfer its powers to you or another authority.”

Beyond the core institutional dispute, Karimbaksh is also contesting the calculations for his entitled pre-retirement leave. While Hicken’s order pegged his accrued annualized vacation leave at 174 days, with a proposed start date of November 8, Karimbaksh argues he is only owed 118 days of leave. His legal team stressed that the reference to November 8 in communications does not constitute acceptance of the date or the underlying leave order.

Karimbaksh has also issued a clear legal warning: if the GPF attempts to force him out of his post before his scheduled retirement in April 2027, his legal team will immediately file formal court proceedings, seeking urgent interim injunctive relief alongside all other appropriate legal remedies and associated costs.

“For the avoidance of doubt, my client does not consent to compulsory pre-retirement leave on the basis presently advanced. He remains ready and available to discharge his duties and comply with lawful directions,” the letter stated. “His position must not be construed as acquiescence in an enforced absence, acceptance of the disputed leave calculation, or waiver of any right.”

As of Monday, efforts by independent media to obtain a full copy of Hicken’s original October 7 leave order have been unsuccessful, leaving key details of the top cop’s initial reasoning for the directive unavailable to the public. The standoff has now thrown a spotlight on the gaps in Guyana’s police disciplinary framework, created by the lack of a fully constituted oversight body, and set the stage for a high-profile court battle that could clarify the distribution of power within the nation’s law enforcement hierarchy.

Guyana’s last surviving pioneering visionary of national independence and universal adult suffrage, Eusi Kwayana, passed away at the age of 101 on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at his residence in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Over a life spanning more than a century, Kwayana shaped every phase of Guyana’s journey from British colonial rule to self-governance and independent statehood, leaving an indelible mark on the nation’s politics, culture, education and social fabric.

Born Sydney Evanson King in April 1925 in Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, Kwayana moved to the historically pivotal village of Buxton with his family at age seven. It was here that he first cultivated his commitment to grassroots community organizing, a value that would anchor his decades-long career. He entered public service extraordinarily early, working as a primary school teacher at just 15 years old, and by the 1940s, he had become active in local village affairs, laying the groundwork for his lifelong political activism.

In 1947, Kwayana joined a cohort of activists led by Dr Cheddi Jagan to co-found the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), the political force that would lead the charge for self-governance in British Guiana. When the PPP won the colony’s first election under universal adult suffrage in 1953, Kwayana took office as Minister of Communication and Works in the nation’s first elected government. That historic administration was cut short just months later, when British colonial authorities, alarmed by the PPP’s progressive agenda, suspended the colony’s constitution, removed the elected government from power, and reimposed direct rule. Kwayana was detained by colonial officials in 1954 during a widespread crackdown on anti-colonial organizing.

Following the 1955 split of the PPP into racially aligned factions, Kwayana’s political journey led him to the People’s National Congress (PNC), where he served as General Secretary and editor of the party’s official newspaper, *New Nation*, after earlier holding the role of Assistant General Secretary. A committed Pan-Africanist focused on advancing cultural consciousness and political empowerment for African Guyanese, Kwayana co-founded the African Society for Racial Equality (ASRE) in 1961, followed by the African Society for Cultural Relations with Independent Africa (ASCRIA) in 1964. It was during this period that he formally changed his name from Sydney King to Eusi Kwayana – a Swahili phrase meaning “Black Man of Guyana” – to reflect his political and cultural identity. He also held a series of key public roles through the 1960s and early 1970s, including head of the National Land Settlement Committee, chairman of the Guyana Marketing Corporation, and lead of the committee that established Guyana’s Cooperative Bank.

In 1974, Kwayana achieved another milestone in his political career when he co-founded the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), a multiracial progressive political movement focused on democratic participation, social justice, and working-class representation. He remained a committed member of the WPA for 52 years until his death, serving as an executive committee member, Member of Parliament, and de facto editor of the party’s publications *Open Word* and *Dayclean*. He worked closely alongside iconic Guyanese activist and scholar Dr Walter Rodney during the WPA’s formative years, and later documented Rodney’s life and assassination in the book *Walter Rodney: His Last Days and Campaigns*. In 1985, he became the WPA’s sole elected representative in Guyana’s National Assembly, serving during a pivotal era of political transition for the country.

Beyond electoral politics, Kwayana made far-reaching contributions to Guyana’s education and cultural life. In 1956, he founded County High School (later renamed Republic Cooperative High School) in Buxton and served as its principal, expanding educational access for working-class young people and strengthening community institutions. A prolific writer, playwright, and historian, he published more than a dozen major works examining core themes of Guyanese life, including colonialism, labor struggles, race relations, and political development. Notable titles include *The Bauxite Strike and the Old Politics*, *Scars of Bondage*, *Guyana: No Guilty Race*, and *Genesis of a Nation: The Indo-Guyanese Contribution to Social Change in Guyana*. He won the Best Play prize in the Youth Category at the 1965 British Guiana Drama Festival for *The Promised Land*, and in a unique contribution to Guyanese political culture, he wrote the iconic battle songs for the PPP, PNC, and WPA – the nation’s three major political parties.

In his personal life, Kwayana’s commitment to Pan-Africanism shaped his relationships. He married Tchaiko Kwayana, an American Pan-Africanist and civil rights activist, in 1971, with a wedding ceremony incorporating traditional Yoruba rites; she passed away in 2017. Kwayana retired from active public life in 2002 and relocated to the United States, where he remained until his death.

In an official statement announcing Kwayana’s passing, the WPA described him as the “Sage of Buxton,” noting that “his fingerprints and footprints are inseparable from 80 years of Guyanese history.” The party hailed him as a pioneer of Guyana’s post-colonial order, a leader who never compromised his integrity, and the modern founder of the nation’s independent radical political tradition. “Guyana has lost the last of its original independence visionaries — one of Guyana’s priceless gifts to itself,” the statement read, calling on Guyanese to celebrate Kwayana’s extraordinary life rather than mourn his passing.

WPA co-leader Professor David Hinds remembered Kwayana as one of Guyana’s most enduring political figures, whose legacy extended far beyond party politics to shape the nation’s collective identity. From grassroots community organizing to national government, from classroom teaching to published scholarship, Kwayana spent his 101 years advancing the causes of democracy, social justice, anti-corruption, and working-class welfare – leaving a legacy that will continue to shape Guyana for generations to come.

On Thursday, members of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) probing the July 18 MV Barima sinking tragedy that killed over 100 people arrived for a scheduled site inspection of Guyana’s Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) goods wharf in Kingston, Water Street — and immediately noticed signs that the facility had been heavily prepped for their visit.

The five-member panel, appointed by President Irfaan Ali to investigate the disaster and recommend maritime safety reforms, first turned their attention to a new vehicle weigh scale installed under a temporary tent on the wharf. Upon closer inspection, commissioners found that despite the equipment being clearly brand new — confirmed by still-sticky adhesive on its product tags — none of the scale’s connecting cables were hooked up to any weight-displaying device. It was only minutes after the commissioners pointed out this disconnect that a T&HD staff member retrieved two locked portable digital weight indicators from an internal storage room and unlocked them for the inspection team.

Other signs of last-minute preparation were widespread across the terminal, according to on-site observations and anonymous source reporting from Demerara Waves. Multiple T&HD workers were issued brand-new high-visibility reflective vests specifically for the visit, and the passenger waiting area’s child-friendly play zone was found to be spotless and seemingly unused, with workers documented cleaning waiting area chairs earlier that morning. When approached by reporters to answer questions about the apparent last-minute touch-ups, T&HD General Manager Yolanda Hughes declined to comment on any aspect of the site preparation.

Beyond the wharf inspection, the commission extended its probe to the MV Ma Lisha, a four-year-old ferry purchased by Guyana from India in 2022 for US$12.7 million to serve passenger and cargo routes to the North West District — the same route the sunken MV Barima operated. During a walkthrough of the vessel, Captain Hamada Fouda, a senior maritime surveyor, compliance auditor with the Maritime Authority of Jamaica, and CoI member, discovered widespread premature corrosion and poor maintenance across multiple components. In one striking example, a rusted protective cap for a tank air vent crumbled into pieces when Fouda touched it, and a nearby identical vent was found to be missing its manual valve wheel entirely.

CoI Chairman Justice Godfrey Smith outlined the panel’s broad mandate in comments Thursday: the team is tasked with reviewing every环节 contributing to maritime safety in Guyana, including inspection protocols, vessel certification, routine maintenance systems, operational procedures, regulatory supervision, staffing levels, crew training, and overall enforcement of existing safety rules. The inquiry’s end goal is to identify gaps in current legislation and regulation that require updating, clarify blurred lines of institutional responsibility, outline necessary policy overhauls, map required training and certification upgrades, improve emergency response frameworks, and flag critical infrastructure and system upgrades needed long-term to prevent future disasters.

Smith confirmed that the commission stands ready to submit interim safety recommendations directly to President Ali at any point if urgent public safety risks are identified before the final report is completed. The July 18 sinking of the MV Barima occurred roughly 10 miles off the Essequibo Coast, as the ferry was traveling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, with 179 passengers and crew on board.