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— says Clinton Conway
Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Clinton Conway said the joint charge against him and Paul Slowe, the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, is not only trumped up but is intended to dismantle the current Police Service Commission to pave way for another Commission.
“The intention is, after we were given those trumped up charges, to destroy the Police Service Commission,” Conway, who also sits on the Commission, told Journalist Travis Chase, during an interview aired on HGP Nightly News on Thursday night.
Conway and Slowe are among nine persons charged with conspiracy to defraud the Guyana Police Force of $10M. It is alleged that the two retired Assistant Police Commissioners along with Claude Whittaker; former Senior Superintendent George Fraser and former Senior Superintendent, Mark Gilbert were paid $10M to facilitate a review of the Guyana Police Force’s Standing Orders, though the Orders were reviewed by the Strategic Planning Unit of the Guyana Police Force between July 2018 and March 2019.
On May 19, 2021, Prime Minister Mark Phillips, in a letter, gave Conway and Slowe up until May 31, 2021 to show cause why they should not be removed from the Police Service Commissioner. “So the plan is, charged Conway, charged Paul Slowe, so then there will be no Service Commission,” he said while noting that he and the others charged are legally powered up and will challenge their removal, and the trumped charges against them.
“I will not rest until I have justice, and I believe in the Judicial Service System in this country that we will have our day in court and we will take action, believe it or not, we will not rest. Me and Paul Slowe, we are already in discussion with our lawyers, we are only waiting on the opportune time,” Conway said.
Slowe, through his lawyer, last Thursday, had also vowed to take legal actions against those who seek to defame his character.
Conway pointed out too that the charge was instituted by the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) – an organization which is headed by Fizal Karimbaksh, who was sanctioned by the Police Service Commission for sexual misconduct within the Force.
“We were investigating an allegation against him, where three female police recruits alleged sexual harassment,” Conway disclosed. He noted that Assistant Commissioner Simon McBean, based on an investigation conducted, recommended charges be laid against Karimbaksh under the Police Discipline Act.
Conway said the Police Service Commission concurred, however, Karimbaksh challenged the case in court but lost. As such, the Commission is proceeding with the charge against Karimbaksh.
He said there were other allegations of sexual harassment made against the SOCU Head.
“There was an investigation conducted by a Deputy Commissioner against Karimbaksh, where 11 female trainees made allegations of sexual harassment against Karimbaksh. I saw the files, I read the files, the investigation was damning but apparently that was swept under the carpet,” Conway contended.
He noted that the Police Service Commission also took disciplinary action against Assistant Commissioner of Police Calvin Brutus, however, he too, took the Commission to Court and the decision is pending.
“The position is to put trumped up charges against me and Paul Slowe and when you put trumped up charges against me and Paul Slowe, they will fight to remove us from the Police Service Commission. So there will be no Service Commission and as a result, we can’t do anything our term finishes in August, and then they will form a new Service Commission, which will be supportive of them, and they promote, who they want to promote…a lot of incompetence,” he posited.
Conway said that the Guyana Police Force is highly divided and lacks the public’s trust.
“Dark clouds are hovering over Police Headquarters, and they are moving into the various regional divisions. There is disunity in the Police Force, there is division,” he posited while noting that the division and the lack of confidence in the police force, is affecting crime fighting and public security in the country.
