MINISTER FACES RAPE CHARGE

The appalling allegations had been making the rounds on social media for about a week before authorities asked senior Guyanese Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel D. Dharamlall to make himself available to police as an official probe into allegations that he had raped and sodomized an under aged indigenous schoolgirl were put to him at the central police station late Monday.

The local government minister said he will present evidence to the contrary in the coming days as societal outrage reached a peak on Monday after it was reported that the child care protection agency and a leading non-governmental organization had taken custody of the girl now, 16, and had deposed her after a lengthy private session on Sunday in the presence of a police officer. Officials said the teenager gave horrid details of the encounter with the minister whom she had met while as a participant in a Miss Indigenous Pageant last year.

Part of the reason for the high level of societal outrage stems from the fact that similar accusations had been made against him in the past but none had reached to the stage where a deposition was taken, a report made to police and an invitation for him to present himself to detectives.

For his part, President Irfaan Ali had said at the weekend that the minister had written him asking to proceed on leave to allow for an official probe into the issue as he said his administration has no tolerance for such behavior by top officials.

Dharamlall on Monday afternoon presented himself to police in the presence of Attorney Nigel Hughes who is linked to the opposition coalition and who has in recent months been at the bitter end of some stinging social media criticism about his competence from his latest client, Dharamlall. He has been released on $5,000 bond after spending about four hours at the police station. Hughes told reporters that the defense will present evidence this week that will contradict the very detailed allegations the girl had made to authorities.

Police said they are proceeding with the probe. The file will likely be sent to the state prosecutor’s office this week to determine whether he should be criminally charged. If tried by judge and jury, a rape defendant could face up to 20 years in prison.

“The Guyana Police Force wishes to confirm that an investigation has been launched in relation to an allegation of rape against the Minister of Local Government, Mr. Nigel Dharamlall,” a release stated, noting that in the company of his attorney, “he was told of the allegation and subsequently arrested.”

His legal worries apart, the minister also has to defend himself in the court of public opinion that he had tried to settle the issue by offering her parents a large sum of money in the past week. He has not commented on this aspect of the allegations as yet, but police and child care officials have said that the child currently prefers not to be in the company or guardianship of her parents because they had been under pressure to settle by governing party officials.

Officials say the victim had written to President Ali recently, asking him to intervene in the case. Then she had also detailed the allegations to the head of state before these started making the rounds on social media platforms.

Opposition parties, civil society groups and the umbrella Amerindian People’s Association (APA) have all piled on the pressure on cabinet to act against one of their own, calling for an impartial investigation.

“To the victim, we commend you for your bravery in raising these allegations and wish that you will be free from fear and intimidation and that your security is not compromised. We stand ready to provide whatever support we can to ensure that you process and heal from what can only be termed the most traumatic experience of your young life,” the APA noted in a tough statement. “Attention must be paid to why stories are heard, and become somewhat public, then are quickly negated by the alleged victim, leaving no space for investigations to take shape. This is the time for attention to be given to similar reports involving both boys and girls, as that allegedly carried out on the child by Minister Dharamlall.”