Rather than labelling police-related deaths as extrajudicial killings under the Coalition’s five-year watch, the then-opposition resorted to the courts, resulting in millions of dollars in compensation to those aggrieved. This difference in approach, the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall said, marks a clear distinction between the “philosophies” of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC).
Nandlall tendered this argument during his contribution to the 2023 budget debates on Friday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara.
The Senior Counsel told the House that there were some 41 police-related deaths between 2015 and 2020, and the then PPP/C opposition immediately moved to the courts to hold the government and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) accountable. He noted that his party did not seek to “politicize” those deaths, but was solely focused on ensuring that justice was served.
“I speak personally to two of these victims; Mr Lallbachan Bachan who died at Suddie lockups on the 31st of June, 2019 and Mr Kalicharan Saywack who died at the Sparendaam lockup on the 28th of January, 2019. Instead of alleging extrajudicial killing and playing politics with the death and tragedies of these people, we instituted legal proceedings on behalf of their families, and we won millions of dollars of compensation for them,” the Minister told the House.
He continued: “We never put people on the road. We never encourage people to beat, burn and rob. That is the difference in political leadership,” Nandlall said, alleging once again the APNU+AFC’s involvement in violent protest demonstrations last June on the East Coast of Demerara.
Those fiery protests along sections of the East Coast Demerara corridor were sparked by Daily News’ inaccurate report that the cop who shot and killed a civilian, Quindon Bacchus, was released. An angry mod descended upon the Mon Repos Market, where several stalls were looted and vendors were beaten. The APNU+AFC subsequently distanced itself from the attacks, claiming that the destruction of both public and private property was carried out persons “rented” by the government and implanted into opposition-organised protests.
