in ICU

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM Justice Kennard’s “rich legacy of decisions” enriched regional jurisprudence – Judiciary

Tributes continue to pour in for the late former Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice (retired) Cecil Kennard, whose service to the legal profession spanned over five decades. He passed away over the weekend, at the age of 86, after a brief period of illness. In a statement, the Judiciary described Justice Kennard as an outstanding jurist whose commitment to upholding the rule of law was unquestionable.

According to the Judiciary, Justice Kennard was passionate about the law, particularly criminal law, and has left a rich legacy of decisions that have enriched the jurisprudence of Guyana and the Caribbean.

The former Chancellor, who was the recipient of two national awards, namely, the Order of Roraima (OR), and the Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH) studied law in the United Kingdom’s prestigious Lincoln’s Inn. He returned to Guyana in 1962 to open a private practice in Berbice, from where he hailed.

His long and illustrious career saw him holding positions as Crown Counsel in the Chambers of the Attorney General and Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Magistrate, Legal Advisor to the Guyana Police Force, Puisne Judge, Justice of Appeal, Chief Justice, and Chancellor. Prior to his judicial career, he served with distinction as a prosecutor in Antigua and Barbuda.

On his retirement from the Judiciary, Justice Kennard served as Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority and was consulted by governmental agencies. While performing functions in these posts, he brought to bear the same zeal and dedication as he did on the bench, the Judiciary noted.

The statement from the Judiciary said that Justice Kennard had a warm and affable personality and was always approachable. “He conducted himself with decorum and integrity,” the missive added. Outside of the Judiciary, he was a sports enthusiast. He had a passion for cricket and horse racing. He was the honorary President of his family-owned Kennard Memorial Turf Club located at Bush Lot, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice). He was most famous in the sporting fraternity for hosting his

Justice (Retired) Cecil Kennard

annual Boxing Day horse racing meet, Emancipation Day horse racing meet and Independence Day meet which were held every year at the club.

Furthermore, the Judiciary noted that the retired Judge was a “true son of the soil” who served with pride, humility, and distinction.

“We have lost a great jurist and his passing has left a void in the legal profession,” the Judiciary said while expressing sincerest condolences to Justice Kennard’s wife, son, other family members, relatives, and friends.

Meanwhile, the Government of Guyana also expressed its deep regret at the death of the former Chancellor. “The passing of such an exemplary son of the soil also creates a void in the sporting fraternity in Guyana, more specifically the horse racing and cricket administrations. He presided over the Judiciary at a time when Guyana experienced major constitutional reforms and the respect and independence of the Judiciary were restored,” it outlined in a statement.

The Guyana Government also thanked Justice Kennard’s family for sharing the distinguished husband, father, and friend with Guyana.

Tributes for Justice Kennard have also been made by President Dr Irfaan Ali, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, and the Bar Association of Guyana among others.

Forced to retire

After devoting over 50 years of his life to serving Guyana, Justice Kennard was in 2017 forced to retire from his post as PCA Chairman by the then President David Granger.

In an interview with this media house at the time, Justice Kennard had expressed his disappointment with the manner in which he was forced out of office.

It was reported that Granger, who was in his early 70s at the time, had dismissed the former PCA Chairman due to his old age. It was reported that Granger, who was in his early 70s at the time, had dismissed the former PCA Chairman due to his old age. However, Granger then went on to appoint 84-yearold Retired Judge James Patterson as Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission.

Kennard, who was disheartened with the manner in which the APNU/AFC Government was coercing him to retire from his post as Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), had told <<<Guyana Times>>> in an exclusive interview he was initially only given practically 36 hours’ notice via a letter sent to his office while he was on vacation to step down from his position.

In the interview in January 2017, Justice Kennard had said he was “shocked and upset” upon receiving that information as he had no prior indication that his service was going to be brought to an end. He also contended that the timeframe in which the APNU/AFC Government gave him to retire was unfair, especially for a senior officer of his capacity.

“To give me 36 hours to vacate is very shocking and even the two months extension is not fair to me because the annual report will take a lot of time to prepare… I am very disturbed and upset that having served this country for 50 years to be given such a short notice,” he had emphasised. (G1)

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM Teen trapped in cement mixer still hospitalised

Ricardo Nandlall, the 18-year-old labourer at the Forrester Lumber and Building Complex at Stewartville, West Coast Demerara, who was critical after sustaining injuries when a co-worker turned on a cement mixer while he was inside, is recovering.

This is according to Regional Commander Senior Superintendent Errol Watts, who said the teen is still hospitalised but is now responding and recovering quickly. He also added that the matter is still being investigated in collaboration with the Labour Ministry.

“We are still pursuing that investigation jointly with the Ministry of Labour, Occupation Safety and Health, and the Guyana Police Force. It is a workplace accident…”, he said.

It was reported that when the accident occurred, the injured teen’s co-worker was unaware that he was inside the machine, cleaning it.

Nandlall, of South De Kinderen Line-Top, West Coast Demerara, who sustained injuries to his abdomen and had his intestines protruding, is currently battling for his life at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Based on reports, a doctor from the Leonora Cottage Hospital contacted the Police Station and requested that a rank visit the institution in relation to the matter.

Ranks were unable to speak with the victim, and as such proceeded to the worksite at Stewartville, WCD. There, the proprietor was questioned by the investigators, and he revealed that the teen had gone into the mixer to clean it, but in the process, a 22-yearold operator who was unaware that the young man was inside the machine, turned it on.

As soon as the machine came on, Nandlall began to scream. Upon realising that he was inside the machine, the mixer was turned off and several other co-workers rushed to his assistance, pulling him out of the machine.

They then took him to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, from whence he was referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

The co-worker who turned on the cement mixer was subsequently detained by the Police for questioning. Investigations are still ongoing. (G9)

The mixer the teen was inside cleaning when it was accidentally switched on

Crawling out…

…from under a rock?

Well, surely no one REALLY thought Raphael Trotman would’ve disappeared into the sunset after his “negotiation” of the worst oil contract in the world, did they? Even if he’d suddenly become as rich as the President of Equatorial Guinea, he’d proven that his ambition for political office knows no bounds. Imagine having the chutzpah to vie for the PNC leadership within a couple of years after Hoyte brought him into the PNC as a new, pretty face to stave off Hamilton Green!! Having absolutely no political base when Hoyte interned him in the City Council, the fella’s head became swollen after comparing himself with the Neanderthal Councillors in City Hall!!

Failing to make headway in the PNC against Corbin, who succeeded Hoyte, he quit the party, but squatted on his seat in Parliament to retain the visibility. He felt he was superior socially and politically to the rough-and-tumble Corbin. He became the willing tool of foreign elements who wanted to remove the PPP Government – just like his hero Burnham back in the day. That’s right…Trotman sees Burnham as the best thing since sliced bread and some reporter should pin him down! He and the other quisling Ramjattan formed the AFC where they tussled over “leadership”. The parallels with Burnham and Jagan were so blatant!!

While Ramjattan thought HE brought the AFC into the PNC/APNU Coalition in 2015, we learnt through Trotman’s blabbering on the hustings that he and Granger had cut a deal years before in Nassau, Bahamas! This was signalled when Granger picked Trotman for Speaker in 2011, over Nagamootoo, who the AFC had nominated!! When the APNU/AFC took office, Trotman’s “Nassau Accord” trumped Ramjattan’s “Cummingsburg Accord”!! Trotman the viper got the key Natural Resources Ministry while Nagamootoo and Ramjattan got outriders and “Larwah”!!

Trotman, of course, then segued into pi55ing away our country’s patrimony after his trip to Houston. One international watchdog, Global Witness examined the contract and the circumstances surrounding it and recommended an investigation of Trotman’s role. After he dropped out of sight following the 2020 elections, some thought he was ailing. But now that he’s surfaced, there’s no question that there must be a COI looking into that giveaway.

Trotman obviously thinks that with the total disarray in the PNC camp, he can leverage his way back into the leadership sweepstakes. Trotman isn’t writing those letters to the press for the public’s enlightenment!! With Granger’s place holder Harmon out of the way (March 15?), the letters are the equivalent of him raising his hand to show he’s available!!

Notice his clever positioning in his letter of being politically more reasonable than Norton.

And socially more kosher!!

…or testing the wind?

Your Eyewitness read an article – based on “a source” in another section of the press – that there are calls within the PNC for the immediate past chair of the party – Volda Lawrence – to be sent to Parliament. She’ll be a triple threat, it was claimed by the “anonymous” (but transparent!) source: female, experienced and with Finance background. But the “source” is ignoring the reason why Volda – with all those credentials – was overlooked back in 2020.

To wit, that the fella legally in charge of the extraction of persons from the PNC list of candidates from 2020 is the “Representative of the List”. Which just happens to be the same Granger who obviously didn’t think her qualifications were enough. Or maybe she had some disability –- like ambition? A political base? – he wasn’t comfortable with!? Has anything happened to change his mind? Or prejudices?

Well, with Harmon out of play, maybe Granger can throw Volda like a grenade into Norton’s Congress Place?

She certainly isn’t on Norton’s hit parade!!

…from “just war” justification

Now entering its third week, Putin’s “just war” rationale for his invasion of Ukraine has been blown to smithereens by his own missiles.

They’ve now hit civilian targets all the way west near the Polish border.

The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Guyana Times’ editorial policy and stance

Police’s communication apparatus should be proactive – Ali

President Dr Irfaan Ali

President of Guyana, Dr Irfaan Ali has issued a call to the Guyana Police Force to operate the Public Communications Unit in a manner that is proactive to relevant issues in the country.

In his urge for the Police to operate in this manner, Ali emphasised that law enforcement cannot adopt a reactive approach in educating the public.

The President voiced, “I wish to bring into focus, the Public Communication Unit of the Guyana Police Force. It should not be a reactive unit. It must be a proactive unit aimed at continuously educating the public, aimed at continuously positioning the work of the Force, bringing issues that are relevant to the execution of the mandate of the Police Force to the floor.”

His remarks come on the heels of public scrutiny on information coming from the Force in recent events relating to crime and accidents. Consequently, the Head of State agreed that the country’s public engagement and educational campaign should be sustained.

“Many are saying after the deadly accident in West Demerara that why is it persons under the influence continue to be a hindrance to public safety and rightfully so. We need an education programme that is not one-off. We need an educational campaign on this issue; a campaign that is sustained, built on a communication strategy and incorporates all the avenues in which the public receives information.”

He ordered tangible action from the GPF in not only education, but intelligence-led operations to prevent and intercept criminal activities.

“I would like to see some tangible, actionable targets in relation to this. The Force relies on members of the public for intelligence, information and support to prevent crime and those engaged in criminal enterprises. This support is vital to effective law enforcement. The public, in turn, relies on the Police for service and protection,” Ali contended.

Credit was given to the Police for the intelligence-led approach undertaken during the reporting period of 2021, which saw effective strategies that affected their work in a positive way. This, he remarked, must be continued in communities.

“I must say that high percentage of Police action in the just concluded year was based on good intelligence gathering. I have seen the results of intelligence-led approach to policing…An effective crime prevention strategy requires that the Force make societal interventions to reduce the incidents of crime. Over the years, the Guyana Police Force has been addressing risk groups and working with them to reduce the behavioural threats and also, offering them authoritative pathway.”

On February 16, 2021, radio broadcaster Stan Gouveia announced that he was appointed Deputy Communications Director of the GPF while former Editor-in-Chief of the Stateowned Guyana Chronicle, Mark Ramotar became the Director. Gouveia and Ramotar assumed their new roles effective February 1.

This new arrangement is a deviation from standard practice whereby a serving member of the Force would assume responsibility for the organisation’s public relations.

Acting Commissioner of Police Nigel Hoppie had explained after that this decision was in keeping with recommendations made in 2019 by two United Kingdom (UK) media and communication consultants.

He had disclosed that the UK consultants, Dr Joan Boyd and Susan Corbett, had recommended, among several other things, the civilianisation of the Guyana Police Force following a visit to Guyana back in 2019 as part of a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) mission. (G12)