PM Rowley must not remain silent on Nelson scandal
I have taken note of the statements made by the Prime Minister at a PNM Public Meeting held in his constituency on the 12th October 2022, where PM Rowley said:
“The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago has no role and no involvement in the prosecution of any person in this country. So those who asking where is the Prime Minister in the matter to do with the DPP’s action and the Vincent Nelson matter, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago has nothing to do with the prosecution and processes against any person in this country, so stop asking for me”.
Two days later an article from the Trinidad Express dated 14th October 2022 – Faris: I discussed case with PM, 4 Govt ministers indicated that the dismissed Attorney General Al-Rawi discussed the matter with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Ministers Stuart Young, Fitzgerald Hinds, Renuka Sagramsingh-Sooklal and Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC. This statement has not been refuted by any of the officeholders.
The Prime Minister is correct when he admits that the Cabinet and the Office of the Prime Minister must play no role in the prosecution of any person in the country. The Indemnity Agreement made between Mr. Al-Rawi and Mr. Nelson was a critical instrument in the collapsed prosecution of Mr. Ramdeen and Mr. Ramlogan. Therefore, based on the Prime Minister’s admission that he must play no role in the prosecution of any person, he must now answer what was the nature of the conversation he had with Mr. Al-Rawi in relation to the matter. If according to the Prime Minister that the Cabinet had no role in the Indemnity Agreement, was the former Attorney General on a frolic of his own making secret deals with witnesses without the knowledge of the Prime Minister. PM Rowley must now tell this country when he became aware of the Indemnity Agreement between Mr. Al-Rawi and Mr. Nelson.
The sacked AG Al-Rawi indicated that he was advised at all times on the Indemnity Agreement and has now cast blame on two prominent silks in Trinidad and Tobago. It is trite law, that the Attorney General must not commingle in the business of criminal prosecutions and the processes of the Police Service and the DPP. While legal advice and opinion are protected by legal professional privilege from public disclosure, the extraordinary nature of this case overrides such privilege that such advice rendered to Mr. Al-Rawi (as he said it was) must be disclosed in the public’s interest. The taxpayers must be able to see and read the advice that they paid for.
This collapsed prosecution has left a permanent stain on our democracy and the integrity of the criminal justice system in Trinidad and Tobago.
MP SADDAM HOSEIN