By Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News |
CHARITY, ESSEQUIBO COAST & QUEENS, NEW YORK — Former Guyanese magistrate, Senior State Counsel, and Police Legal Advisor Albert Baldeo has mounted a scathing critique against Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, accusing the state’s chief prosecutor of establishing a dangerous and legally flawed precedent by rushing to indict three low-level Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) crew members for murder following the catastrophic sinking of the M.V. Barima.
Baldeo’s intervention comes as the criminal matter against the vessel’s captain and two crewmen advanced before Magistrate Ravindra Mohabir at the Charity Magistrate’s Court, where the prosecution confirmed that the primary evidential disclosure bundle has been handed over to the defence, paving the way for paper committal proceedings to commence on November 16, 2026.
Rush to Prosecute and Institutional Silencing
Speaking from New York in an exclusive follow-up interview with HGP Nightly News, Baldeo—an elected Judicial Delegate and District Leader in Queens—argued that the rush to file capital murder charges against junior maritime hands serves as an institutional smokescreen designed to shield senior political and maritime administrators from criminal culpability:
- Distorting the Rule of Law: Baldeo warned that using the heavy hand of the state against operational workers while ignoring executive oversight damages public confidence and erodes democratic governance in Guyana.
- Inverting Inquiries: He contended that filing charges before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (COI) has even begun public hearings is structurally defective and intended to enforce silence on the crew.
- Coercion and Duress: The former magistrate argued that lower-level crew members regularly operate under organizational duress, lacking the administrative authority to refuse sailing orders issued by senior management.
“You got to practice what you preach. Charity begins at home. You can’t have these things going on… And the rush to charge by the DPP is very, very troubling,” Baldeo declared. “The Commission of Inquiry should have been held first. This Commission of Inquiry should have already been concluded, and then you should have had the charges where the evidence and the law led… It is a strict strategic and structural mechanism to keep these folks quiet.”
Documented History of Mechanical Decay Since August 2025
Baldeo revealed that internal logs and correspondence confirm a long-standing pattern of mechanical neglect aboard the M.V. Barima stretching back to at least August 2025, demonstrating that ministerial and supervisory authorities were aware of the vessel’s unseaworthy condition:
- Engine & Electrical Defects: Maintenance records documented severe mechanical vulnerabilities, including malfunctioning auxiliary generators, worn and frayed engine control cables, and heavily corroded fuel lines.
- Absence of Safety Communication: The river vessel was permitted to transport passengers and cargo through turbulent riverine channels without basic, functioning maritime communication gear, notably lacking an operational VHF marine radio.
- Ignored Repair Requisitions: Official requests for emergency dry-docking and critical component overhauls were systematically delayed or sidelined by administrative authorities, reflecting a callous disregard for human life.
“Charge from the Top”: Call for Executive Manslaughter Charges
Baldeo maintained that if the legal threshold for homicide or involuntary manslaughter is to be applied to the maritime disaster, indictments must extend up the administrative hierarchy:
- Executive Culpability: The veteran legal practitioner argued that high-ranking officials within the Ministry of Public Works and the Transport and Harbours Department who cleared the compromised vessel for navigation should face criminal negligence and manslaughter charges.
- Victim Compensation: Baldeo concluded by demanding that the administration immediately deliver comprehensive financial compensation and long-term socio-economic restitution to the bereaved families and surviving victims of the disaster, rather than forcing them through protracted legal battles.
“If you gonna charge for manslaughter, then you gotta charge from the top of that vessel,” Baldeo emphasized. “Not just scapegoat the vulnerable people at the bottom who knew the boat was falling apart and had no choice.”
