Lawyers representing Kenson’s employees, Heritage and Paria want the Commissioners of the Commission of Enquiry (CoE) into the Paria diving tragedy to be recused on the basis of being biased. This was disclosed by CoE chairman, Kings Counsel Jerome Lynch, during a news conference on Wednesday to address the commission’s further extension to November 30, for the submission of its final report.
While Lynch did not go into any details about the allegations, he rejected them “wholeheartedly.” He said he received the letters from the lawyers representing Kenson’s employees on August 2(and previously) and from lawyers representing Heritage and Paria on Tuesday.
Lynch said, “Both suggest they have been unfairly treated and that the Commissioners, I suspect primarily me, have displayed an apparent bias and that we should be recused. I do not deal with the merits of those complaints now as they have yet to be fully articulated, and a press conference is not the right forum. But, whilst I wholeheartedly reject those allegations, I would have thought that if there was to be an application for recusal on the grounds of apparent bias it is normal, in the first instance, for that to be made before the tribunal engaged in the process.”
However, he said no request has been made for the CoE to resume sitting to hear such an application. In answer to a question, Lynch said if the parties choose to initiate legal action, that is a matter for them, but they will not be deflected from their task or entertain any attempt to delay the proceedings. He noted that they have now received responses from every one. Lynch said they will first submit a draft report to all the parties, who will then have another opportunity to respond, before the final report is submitted.
Lynch also dismissed speculation that the cause of the delay has been as a result of either political or the company (Paria) interference, in some way.
“I can state categorically, that is not the case. If there were even a whiff of such an approach, I would make that very public indeed.”
He added that after their initial hiccups with the necessary facilities the government and, in particular Energy Minister Stuart Young, have done all they can to facilitate and expedite the report. Lynch was confident they would wish to publish the report in short order once concluded.
“Similarly, we place no blame at anyone else’s door for this delay. The delay, such as it is, is mine, I have decided that we will take a little more time and add additional safeguards so as to ensure fairness to all and limit the potential for further litigation aimed at thwarting the legitimate aims of this Enquiry.”
He also apologised to the families of the four deceased divers and the lone survivor Christopher Boodram who had issued a joint statement, rejecting their request for a further extension to submit the report. He said, “whilst we do not accept that their criticism is entirely fair, we can and do understand their deep sense of frustration at this further delay and I therefore apologise to them, first. That apology is extended to everyone awaiting the final outcome of this report. It is clear from the families and others that they have already formed the view that they hold Paria responsible. We do not have the luxury of pre-judging. We must approach this in an unbiased, objective way, examining all the evidence before reaching our view of the facts and what that means for the people involved.”
The initial timeline for the report submission was by Easter, then it was extended to May, then to August 30 and now November 30.
In February last year five divers were trapped in a pipeline during an underwater maintenance exercise.
Four of the divers, Fyzal Kurban, Kazim Ali Jr, Rishi Nagassar and Yusuf Henry died.
