Latest update November 8th, 2024 1:00 AM
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CJ extends Mingo‘s time in police custody
– Lawyer withdraws case for his release
Chief Justice (ag) Rishi Persaud has granted an extension for the Guyana Police Force to further hold District Four Returning, Clairmont Mingo, who was arrested on Tuesday in relation to allegations of electoral fraud related to the March 02, 2020, General and Regional Elections.
Attorney, Darren Wade
The matter was heard yesterday via Zoom videoconference. According to the Court Order secured by lawyer for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Teriq Mohammed, Mingo will remain in Police Custody for 24 hours more until today, Saturday, August 29, 2020, at 14:20 hours.
It was further ordered that Mingo report to Police Officers Mitchell Caesar, Nigel Stephens and/or Rodwell Sarrabo or the next senior officer at the CID Headquarters Eve Leary, Kingston, Georgetown at 9:00 am daily with effect from August 30, 2020.
He was also ordered to lodge his passport with the CID headquarters, and to report any change of residence to one of the officers mentioned. The Chief Justice (CJ)’s order came to further detain the embattled Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) officer moments after his Attorney Darren Wade withdrew habeas corpus proceedings to have him released from custody.
Detained: District Four Returning, Clairmont Mingo
Wade conceded to the Court’s finding that the habeas corpus proceeding was useless this point since his client was not held in custody in excess of 72 hours. He conceded too that the matter would soon become academic given that the 72 hours period in which the police is lawfully allowed to hold his client would expire at 14:20hrs. The attorney reported to the Court too that he was having access readily to his client.
Wade had, by way of a Writ of Habeas Corpus, petitioned the Court claiming that his client’s constitutional rights were being violated as there was no lawful ground for his continued detention. The lawyer who is also a candidate for the A Partnership for National Unity +Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition nonetheless remains adamant that his client has committed no fraud. He instead contends that his arrest and detention are politically motivated.
Meanwhile, Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall contended that the Fixed Date Application (FDA) was wholly misconceived and wrong from the start. Nandlall appeared in person together with Nigel Hawke, Solicitor General, Deborah Kumar, Deputy Solicitor General and Mrs. Beverley Bishop-Cheddie, Assistant Solicitor General, representing the Commissioner of Police. Nandlall noted that Courts do not sit in academic matters and relied upon the CCJ Case of Ya’ache Conservation Trust v Attorney General of Belize (Appellate jurisdiction).
He explained further that habeas corpus applications address issues of unlawful arrest and or detention. The Attorney General further underscored that detention was not unlawful since Article 139 (4) of the Constitution permits the Police to detain a citizen for a period of 72 hours before being released and taken before a Court.
He stressed that the period of Mingo’s detention for 72 hours has not yet expired. Nandlall further argued that Mingo’s case is also misconceived in that any allegations of breach of a person’s or suspect’s Constitutional rights ought properly to be canvassed in an application for Constitutional relief made under Part 56.01 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
On this aspect, the AG contended that the FDA filed was fundamentally flawed as the provision relied on was Article 144 of the Constitution which addresses the right to a fair hearing which bore no relevance to the application filed on behalf of Mingo.
In this regard, AG cited the case of Attorney General of Guyana v Keshwar Ramlall (2015) 86 WIR 347 in which the Judgment of Justice Carl Singh, which stated that when invoking constitutional provisions it is incumbent to identify the specific provision(s) which is/ are alleged to have been breached and for the matrix of the evidence supporting that violation to be specifically pleaded.
In the final analysis, Wade conceded and withdrew his application filed on behalf of Mingo. As such, the Court ordered no costs to any of the parties concerned.
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