The Guyana Police Force has opened an investigation into serious allegations of sexual assault and threatening behaviour against Deputy Commissioner of Police Fizal Karimbaksh. Yet the senior officer remains on duty. That is difficult to reconcile with the standards of professional policing.
The allegations made by a serving female Police Inspector are serious. They include claims of sexual assault on more than one occasion and threats involving a firearm. They remain allegations and have not been proven in court.
Karimbaksh is entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence. But due process does not require an accused senior police officer to remain in operational command while an investigation is underway.
Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken has established a team to investigate the matter, and Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond has said the investigation will involve statements from relevant persons, including Karimbaksh, followed by a formal confrontation.
Walrond has also made clear where she stands on the question of administrative leave.
“It is my view, and I hold this strong view, that he should be sent on administrative leave pending the investigation.”
That is a reasonable safeguard, not a verdict.
Administrative leave is not punishment. It does not establish guilt. It simply removes the potential for an accused officer to exercise operational authority while investigators establish the facts.
Some people believe the allegations may be a set-up or an attempt to damage Karimbaksh. That possibility cannot be dismissed without investigation. But even if the allegations ultimately prove to be unfounded, that does not justify keeping him on the job while the investigation is being pursued.
Indeed, the possibility that the allegations are false is another reason for a properly insulated investigation. If Karimbaksh is innocent, an impartial investigation should establish that without his continued operational presence becoming a source of suspicion.
This is particularly important because Karimbaksh is not an ordinary police rank. He is a Deputy Commissioner and head of the Special Organised Crime Unit. The Guyana Police Force’s own 2024 annual report identifies him as part of its Executive Leadership Team.
A junior officer making allegations against a senior superior creates an obvious power imbalance.
What happens when other officers witness such a situation? What message does it send to a female officer contemplating whether to report alleged misconduct by someone senior to her? Will she believe the system will protect her, or will she fear professional consequences, transfers, isolation or damage to her career?
A police force cannot allow such uncertainty to become institutional culture. The Force has previously said that corruption and misconduct have no place within its ranks and that no officer will be shielded where evidence establishes wrongdoing. That principle must apply irrespective of rank.
There is also the question of the complainant. Walrond has said the Inspector was transferred from SOCU at her own request and that the transfer was intended to remove her from a situation in which she might feel uncomfortable.
But there is an uncomfortable institutional optics when the complainant is moved while the officer against whom the complaint was made remains in place. Professional policing must protect both the accused and the complainant.
Karimbaksh must not be condemned before the evidence is tested. Equally, the complainant must not be treated as though making an allegation against a powerful superior is itself an offence.
The Police Service Commission is currently not constituted, and Walrond has identified that as an issue concerning who has authority to place the Deputy Commissioner on administrative leave. But an institutional vacancy should not become an excuse for inaction.
The investigation should be independent, thorough and evidence-driven.
And while it proceeds, Karimbaksh should step aside from operational duties. That is not a judgment of guilt. It is a judgment about protecting the integrity of the investigation, the confidence of police ranks and the credibility of the Guyana Police Force.
No one should be above investigation. But neither should anyone be presumed guilty. Administrative leave is the bridge between those two principles.
