By Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News |
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police and former Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC) Paul Slowe has fiercely challenged the ongoing inaction by state authorities in laying criminal charges against Deputy Commissioner of Police Fizal Karimbaksh, bluntly accusing high-ranking officials of “dancing” around clear-cut statutory violations to shield a well-connected senior officer.
Speaking on his widely followed public affairs podcast, Slowe asserted that the criminal complaints leveled by a female police inspector—alleging rape, felonious assault, and threatening behavior with a firearm—represent an open-and-shut criminal matter rather than an internal departmental squabble.
Slowe questioned why weeks have elapsed without formal charges or an indictment from the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), despite the substantive knowledge and direct involvement of Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn, Acting Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken, and Attorney General Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC.
The retired officer’s intervention comes on the heels of a newly leaked audio recording published by digital investigative outlet The Big Smith News Watch, where a voice purported to be Karimbaksh’s is allegedly heard offering a cash bribe to the female complainant in an attempt to convince her to recant her official police statement.
‘No Consent Between Ranks’: The Power Asymmetry Argument
Slowe underscored that the institutional disparity between a substantive Deputy Commissioner and a junior subordinate legally negates any claim of consensual intimacy under modern prosecutorial standards:
- Ministerial Awareness: Slowe reminded the public that the Minister of Home Affairs himself had previously articulated that given the overwhelming rank disparity, genuine consent cannot exist in relationships of such hierarchical coercion.
- Criminal Act vs. Departmental Infraction: Slowe criticized official dialogue that frames the matter around administrative leave, internal discipline, or Police Service Commission reviews, arguing that such steps confuse routine police misconduct with grave indictable felonies.
“The Minister of Home Affairs… made it clear that given the disparity in rank between a Deputy Commissioner and a junior rank, there cannot be any consent to any relationship.”
“This has nothing to do with discipline, this is a clear allegation of a crime.”
‘Dancing to Evade Charges’: Friends in High Places
Addressing the institutional hesitation to prosecute, Slowe alleged that Karimbaksh’s close political alignment with executive powerbrokers is stalling the justice system:
- Allegations of Preferential Treatment: Slowe argued that had a junior constable or ordinary citizen faced equivalent allegations corroborated by voice recordings, an arrest and court arraignment would have occurred within 48 hours.
- The Interdiction Protocol: Clarifying constitutional and administrative procedures, Slowe explained that the Police Service Commission (PSC) only possesses the statutory mandate to interdict an officer on half-pay after criminal charges have been formally instituted in the Magistrates’ Court. Demanding administrative action before criminal charges, he argued, puts the cart before the horse.
“They are dancing,… they are trying to get something not to charge the man.”
The Leaked Audio Scandal: Bribery Claim Meets ‘AI’ Defense
The controversy intensified following The Big Smith News Watch’s release of a second audio recording capturing an alleged attempt to suppress the criminal probe:
- The Recantation Offer: In the audio file, the speaker—identified by the news outlet as Karimbaksh—is heard attempting to negotiate a financial settlement with the complainant to induce her into withdrawing her formal police report.
- The AI Defense: Through his legal counsel, Deputy Commissioner Karimbaksh has vehemently denied the allegations, maintaining that the recording is an artificial intelligence (AI) deepfake fabricated to destroy his professional reputation.
- Legal Threats vs. Outlet Standing Ground: While Karimbaksh has threatened immediate civil and criminal libel action over the broadcast, The Big Smith News Watch publicly reaffirmed the authenticity of its reporting and stated it stands by its investigative disclosures.
With a formal determination by the Director of Public Prosecutions still pending, Slowe warned that any attempt to bury the dossier will irreparably damage public trust in the Guyana Police Force and confirm widespread suspicions that high-ranking ranks enjoy practical immunity from the rule of law.
