BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – Opposition Leader, Tracy Taegar-Panton, is questioning the sincerity behind the government’s decision to have an independent investigation into the alleged kidnapping of a Belizean and his surrender to Guatemalan authorities in August.
“If it is that the Cabinet is not now discussing how they are going to put in the right regulatory framework for this to occur, we know this is all just hogwash,” she told reporters after the John Briceño government said earlier this week it had received a report into the alleged kidnapping.
In addition, the government said that Police Commissioner, Dr Richard Rosado, who had been sent on 45 days’ leave “in the first instance” would return “to active duty effective immediately”.
A government statement said that the report into the abduction of Ryan Joseph Budna had been received from the lead investigator, Assistant Commissioner of Police Suzette Anderson.
It stated that, based on the high level of public interest in this case, the report made two recommendations, which the Cabinet subsequently accepted.
“The recommendation moving forward is that an Independent Investigation be conducted in relation to this incident,” and “that none of the police officers assigned to this Inquiry be allowed to make any statement to the media or within the public domain, to safeguard the integrity of the said Inquiry if the matter is addressed in a court of law”.
However, Taegar-Panton is questioning what else the initial police report contained and why the CabinCabinet is acting like a judge and jury behind closed doors.
“The report also says, according to the prime minister, that we should restrict, we’re going to put a gag order on officers from speaking to the independent media. If these two recommendations alone made it into this preliminary summary and this initial report, what else is being hidden?
“As I said, there are a lot more questions than answers. As Belizeans, we deserve the entire report, not selective snippets filtered through the Cabinet. It seems that the CaCabinets are acting as their own kangaroo court, reviewing evidence in secret, deciding who is implicated and who may not be implicated, and worse, seeking to protect their own,” the Opposition Leader said.
The opposition contends that Prime Minister Briceño and his Cabinet have “clearly overstepped their authority.
“Our laws provide precise mechanisms for oversight. Any serious criminal matter, and make no mistake, this is a criminal investigation involving security forces, must go to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
“The question is, why has this not been done? Why have the case file, the preliminary report, and the surveillance videos not been handed over, and why is it that the Cabinet persists in violating the very fundamental principle of our democracy that deals with the separation of powers between the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary?
“And then, there’s this issue of selective disclosure. Unacceptable. The government has admitted that the inquiry report exists. According to PM Briceño, this preliminary report was discussed in his cabinet briefing yesterday. The report, as the prime minister has indicated, calls for a quote-unquote independent investigation. Now let me say, there’s no such thing as an independent investigation in this country, and there is no such legislative framework to facilitate this notion of an independent investigation,” the Opposition Leader added.
The government statement said that the Cabinet also agreed to refer the recommendations to the Attorney General for legal guidance on how best to give full effect to these recommendations.
Last month, Prime Minister John Briceño said he had instructed the country’s police commissioner to proceed on 45 days’ leave “in the first instance” after he had earlier asked his Home Affairs Minister, Kareem Musa, to provide an update over the controversial “abduction” of Budna.
On August 24, the Belize Police Department announced the official launch of an investigation into an incident involving Budna, which occurred on August 22.
“The Policia Nacional Civil (PNC) of Guatemala has confirmed that Mr Ryan Joseph Budna is in their custody pursuant to an arrest warrant; however, they have not disclosed the details surrounding his apprehension,” the police said, adding that its own investigation was initiated based on an official report filed by a witness to the event.
“The witness reported observing a confrontation involving several individuals, one of whom matched the description of Mr Budna, who was subsequently placed into a dark-coloured SUV bearing a Belize City license plate,” the police added.
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