The sad country: Magistrate Ann McLennan and the police

SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER FEATURES / COLUMNISTS, FREDDIE KISSOON

The story of Magistrates and police who damage the image of an already damaged country goes on. Do you know one of the most recognizable names in the medical profession has submitted a damning indictment to the Judicial Service Commission against a Magistrate? It will be interesting to see how that plays out. A recent application by a Magistrate for judgeship has been rejected. One of Guyana’s most senior Judges used the word “eccentric” in describing a Magistrate to me. I swear on my parents’ graves and on my family he told me so. Why then are we keeping this Magistrate? The Bar Association has published a guideline for citizens. It is called “Rights of Arrested Persons.” It will be tacked on to the doors of all police stations for the world to see. But what value that document has if the police will ignore your rights? It is like the constitution of a country. What do you do if the government ignores the constitution? In Guyana we have parliamentarians who are foreign citizens. The Constitution prohibits that. Try moving them. The Constitution provides for the Procurement Commission. The PPP Government refused to have it. Last week, I was driving west on North Road with two second-tier leaders of the Alliance For Change, Leon Hunt and Carlyle Goring, when we witnessed an incident. A motor-cyclist was being interrogated. I showed the traffic rank the schedule of offences that are ticketable. It requires the rank to give a ticket for “Failure to Produce a Driver’s Licence.” The rank insisted that it means “refusal to show your licence.” This was ignorance. He took the man to Brickdam station. We followed and went to the station. I requested a senior official to explain to the rank who was present that “failure” does not mean “refusal.” He conceded, but outside of the station resented that I had caused him embarrassment. Let’s see what happens to the Bar Association’s booklet. I am not optimistic because the police and Magistrates were at it again last week. The Government of Guyana has informed the nation that if you possess any type of gun and ammunition for which there is no legal permit, and you hand it over to the security forces you will not face prosecution. It is called amnesty. Any moron with a bit of commonsense, not much but a tiny bit and the same thinking applies to policemen and Magistrates, would know that you cannot go to Planet Mars and drop the stuff on top of the police station. You use your feet or a bicycle, or a motor-cycle or a car, or a lorry or a Bedford truck, or a baby stroller or an aircraft carrier, and you take the weaponry to the police station. If on the way the police stop you, you simply explain that you are using the amnesty. There is absolutely no way the police can charge you because you cannot be prosecuted for using the amnesty. There are things in life that are guaranteed to people which rest on commonsense. This amnesty is one of them. Things become complicated if the police stop you at three in the morning and you tell them you are going to the station. It is impossible to accept that you are using the amnesty at that uncivilized hour. The story is a complete different one if you are going to the police station during working hours. This is what happened with two men who were going to the station to use the amnesty. The police still charged them. But the role of the Magistrate was equally alarming. A Magistrate determines if a case in front of him/her has legal sanction. It is within the jurisdiction of a Magistrate to dismiss a case if there are no legal merits whatsoever. Here is a perfect example. The ignorance of the police caused a diplomat to be in front of a Magistrate. The Embassy informs the Magistrate that the diplomat cannot be charged because the Geneva Convention gives him immunity. There and then, the Magistrate has jurisdiction to release the diplomat. Two Lindeners were on their way to the station to use the amnesty when the police stopped them. They explained their intention. The ranks were about to escort them to hand over the stuff but senior ranks insisted they be charged. This was explained by their lawyer, Clyde Forde, to Magistrate McLennan who still proceeded with the case and assigned it to another Magistrate. The men should have been acquitted there and then. For God’s Sake, there is an amnesty on.