Dear Editor,
It was truly outrageous to read the news that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ms Shalimar Ali-Hack has withdrawn a private criminal charge filed against Attorney-at-Law Nirvan Singh by Former Police Constable, Shawnette Bollers.
It was even more sickening to hear that the DPP provided no explanation for her decision to deny a citizen the right to seek justice, after said citizen was subjected to alleged verbal assault with racial slurs, which could be argued as being in violation of the Racial Hostility Act, Cap. 23:01.
Bollers’ Attorney Eusi Anderson is quoted in the media as saying, “The DPP’s letter is absolutely silent on the reasons for the exercise of her power to discontinue. The DPP’s letter is also silent on the status of the police file which is allegedly before her for advice.”
Is the public servant DPP a power onto herself to deny citizens the right to seek justice with no explanation? It is a travesty that we are at this point which shows that the criminal justice system in Guyana is rotten to the core. Why are we condoning these type of behaviors in public office and allowing it to fester like a plague in our “One Guyana”? Where is the outrage? The DPP must be condemned on all grounds.
Guyana is on the cusp of tremendous transformation and for our country to truly advance we must build a society where the rule of law applies to all, everyone must be allowed to seek justice and the court must be allowed to do its work without interference. We cannot progress with people in office who will continue to be a problem with allowing to the administration of justice. I applaud MsBollers for her decision to challenge the DPP ‘all the way to the CCJ.’ If we build a society with anarbitrary justice system, no one in Guyana will ever be safe.
Regards,
Ron O. D’Avilar
