Court martialling army officer may prove difficult
Kaieteur News
January 31, 2007
While it appears to be inevitable that a senior rank in the Guyana Defence Force will be interdicted, it is not so clear cut that he would be court martialled. The dilemma surfaces in the wake of the disappearance of the AK-47s from the Guyana Defence Force bond at Camp Ayanganna .
The weapons were discovered missing shortly after Mash Day 2006, and this led to a massive manhunt across the country, and the subsequent dismantling of what was referred to as a drug empire.
Homes were raided, and many people arrested. Criminals were caught up during the exercise, which sought to leave no stone unturned.
The first break came when an anonymous call led to the discovery of three AK-47 assault rifles on a plot of land on the East Coast of Demerara. Other rifles turned up in the hands of criminals, most of whom were slain, not least among them eight men who were part of the brazen robbery at two commercial banks on the Corentyne.
Internal investigations led to finger-pointing at a senior rank who, for a brief while, was detained and questioned.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations came and conducted polygraph tests, the results of which have never been made public. But leaks led to the identification of a top army officer, if not in the direct act of aiding in the disappearance of the weapons, at least in negligence leading to the disappearance of the guns.
A source close to the army said that even if the army believes that the officer is complicit, it may have a difficulty court martialling him. The head of the court martial must be a Brigadier, a rank higher than the accused. The others would have to be of the same rank.
However, since some of them may actually be in the hunt for the AK-47s, they could be considered as having a vested interest, and may therefore preclude themselves from sitting.
The source said that this could also be the same situation with the Brigadier, who in this case is the army Chief-of-Staff.
The source said that any court martial proceedings could entail importing senior army ranks from other Commonwealth countries, a task that the Government may not wish to undertake.
Meanwhile, the army remains mum on the proceedings, and some senior ranks would only say that anything in the public domain borders on speculation.