GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC -The Guyana government says it is not “surprised” that Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton criticized the appointment of Clifton Hicken as Police Commissioner.
In a statement, the Government said that Hicken was the most senior member of the Guyana Police Force upon the retirement of David Ramnarine “but was deliberately and capriciously sidelined by the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government, which appointed two members of the Force to act in the Office of the Commissioner of Police successively, both of whom were junior to Hicken.
“To date, Mr. Hicken remains the most senior member of the Guyana Police Force and, no doubt, is duly qualified to have been appointed Commissioner of Police,” the Government said.
Hicken took the oath of office before Present Irfan Ali on Thursday, and Norton said he is challenging the appointment of the new head of the police service. The current head has been acting in the position for the past two years and has already passed the retirement age.
Norton said he believes the appointment is illegal on several grounds.
“I have spoken to the lawyers…and we are going to take legal action on this one because I don’t consider myself to have been consulted, and then the law said I should be consulted.
“When he wrote to me, I made it very clear that an investigation is needed, not the appointment of people of questionable character. So to me, the President is again involved in another unlawful act,” the Opposition Leader said.
Norton said Hicken should not have been promoted and confirmed in the position after retirement, even if his acting appointment was extended.
He said that the decision to appoint Hicken indicates that the Government is “complicit in the corruption because there are people, there are serious allegations against them, and you are confirming them. What you are doing and saying to the people of Guyana is that you are comfortable with corruption in the Guyana Police Force.
“Also, some in the leadership of the Police Force is manifestly incompetent, and to appoint him and then to go on as if they are competent is also an indication that the Government needs incompetent and compromised people which they can hold over them to achieve their objective.
“We have long said that the Police Force has been politicizing, and this is again a manifestation of the politicization of the Guyana Police Force,” Norton said.
But the Government had brushed aside Norton’s concerns, recalling that when in office, the coalition government had a “track record of constitutional violations” and that it had no “moral authority to lecture anyone on constitutionality and the rule of law, in particular, as it relates to the appointment of Commissioner of Police.”
The ruling People’s Progressive Party-Civic (PPP-C) says the last appointment made by the previous Government to the Office of Commissioner was made on July 31, 2020, “the last day of their demission of Office and five months after they lost the March 2” 2020 General and Regional Elections.
“Worse yet, the appointment was made not by the President but by the Permanent Secretary of the then Ministry of Public Security. Ironically, ‘no consultation’ is Mr. Norton’s cry now, but when that appointment was made, the then Leader of the Opposition was not even informed or consulted.
“For the public record, the Government maintains most resolutely that Mr. Clifton Hicken was lawfully appointed by the provisions of Article 211 of the Constitution of Guyana and in due compliance with the Constitution (Prescribed Matters) Act,” the Government added.
It said Norton “is free to take whatever legal recourse he deems necessary. It is appropriate that the Government reminds us that it is not the first time Mr. Norton will be challenging Mr. Hicken’s appointment.
“When Mr. Hicken was appointed to act in the Office of the Commission of Police, Mr. Norton challenged that acting appointment on the ground that the President did not consult with the Leader of the Opposition. The High Court dismissed Mr. Norton’s legal challenge, but he chose not to appeal that dismissal. Needless to say, any legal challenge filed will be vigorously defended,” the Government added.
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