The High Court decision to strike out the clause in the Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Selection Process) Order of 2015 that placed the Minister of National Security at the start of the process in appointing both the commissioner and his deputy is a significant step in preserving our democratic way of life.
Even though the challenge to the provision came from retired police inspector Harridath Maharaj, the fingerprint of the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) is most discernible, with Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar leading arguments before His Lordship Justice Peter Rajkumar. It was perceptive of the Opposition to detect this seemingly innocuous clause but which had the potential to allow interference of the Government in the appointment of the police commissioner and his deputy.
No democracy should ever allow any government to exercise control, however limited, on appointments to the police or the army, especially at the leadership level.
My stint as High Commissioner to South Africa brought me in contact with citizens of both the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Kingdom of Swaziland whose tales of horror of political persecution in the name of civil prosecution at the hands of political police were simply distressing. These were horrible incidents experienced by victims and eye-witnesses of man's inhumanity to man.
We have to exercise vigilance to ensure that our police are insulated from political manipulation. The UNC and its leader must be commended for exercising that vigilance.
Harry Partap,
Tableland