Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley says it is not feasible for Attorney General Anand Ramlogan to be investigating allegations of collusion relating to prison abuse litigation because it involved his personal lawyers. Addressing PNM supporters in San Fernando on Thursday night at the City Auditorium, Rowley again called for an independent investigation into the allegations raised by former solicitor general Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell. Ramlogan has refused to recuse himself in the matter.
Rowley said Ramlogan cannot be the investigator because he is a witness in the matter. Questioning why Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is afraid of an independent investigation, he said: “I think they are afraid that they will find something that will put an end to all of them. If it turns out that the conflict we are talking about actually exists then that is the end of the AG in public office.”
He also claimed that one of the attorneys involved in the prison settlements had been paid almost $40 million in taxpayers’ money from briefs from the Office of the AG. Also addressing questions by supporters, Rowley said a PNM government will consider setting up an online national housing registry to give information on the status of people’s applications among other things. He also said a PNM government will also abolish the Ministry of Local Government, giving more autonomy to the regional corporations.
And Opposition Senator Faris Al-Rawi, speaking earlier at the same meeting, says the police and not the Attorney General should be probing the allegations because only the police can investigate a crime. Al-Rawi said the allegations may constitute an abuse of process as well a perversion of the course of justice.
Noting that the AG in denying that there is a conflict of interest asked for one example, Al-Rawi said the attorneys in the Sambury and Fortune assault cases had represented the Attorney General in private litigation brought against Rowley. “And the Attorney General says no conflict of interest but the Master of the Court says I find that there has been a cut and paste from the Fortune case directly into the Sambury case.” He said those attorneys also appeared in the Samaroo case, another assault claim brought by a prisoner.
“In the Fortune case and Sambury case, the similarity is six out of ten, in the Samaroo case the similarity is eight out of ten.” Ramlogan has denied that there was possible criminal behaviour in the settlement of prison litigation.