Ex-SSA boss takes National Security Minister to court: Why was I fired?

FORMER Strategic Services Agency (SSA) director retired Major Roger Best wants to know why he was fired and has taken National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds to court to get answers.

Best was sent on immediate administrative leave on March 2.

He and 27 other SSA operatives were summarily dismissed between March and May, on the basis of the contents of a confidential Special Branch report which was reviewed by the National Security Council (NSC), which is chaired by the prime minister.

Best was arrested on May 16, and in a media release on May 18, Hinds revealed a decision by Cabinet that advised the acting President to “terminate the appointment of Major (Ret’d) Roger Best as director of the SSA with immediate effect.”

The agency is authorised to intercept communications via phone calls, WhatsApp, e-mails and other modes after obtaining court orders under the Interception of Communications Act.

It was first established in 1995 primarily “to guide the formulation and implementation of national policies on illicit trafficking of dangerous drugs and related criminal activities.”

This role and function was expanded in 2016, under the PNM, “to act as an office for centralising information that could facilitate the detection and prevention of serious crime, for co-ordinating operations for the suppression of serious crime and for co-operating with the services or the corresponding services of other countries.”

On July 12, Best, through his attorney Arden Williams, sought answers in a freedom of information request.

He has asked for minutes, notes, and documents showing that he was interviewed before his dismissal; or was shown reasons for his termination; the authority used for his dismissal; and documents relating to his employment in the Volunteer Defence Force.

His lawsuit says there has been no response from the minister to date and he wants the court to declare he is entitled to the information he is seeking, and order the minister to provide it.

Best’s lawsuit has been assigned to Justice Joan Charles and will come up for a hearing on September 26.

It says, “The applicant has been effectively denied all the information sought in respect of his request.”

The lawsuit also contends Hinds has not given a reason for not complying with his obligations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has breached his statutory duty.

Also representing Best is Mariah Ramrattan.

In early March, after he was sent on administrative leave, Dr Rowley, as head of the NSC, recalled retired Brig Gen Anthony Phillips-Spencer – the then ambassador to Washington, DC – to replace Best at the helm of the SSA. Rowley cited an impending threat to national security as the reason for this decision.

In a statement to Parliament on July 3 – according to a Newsday report dated July 4 – the PM revealed for the first time details of the audit by Phillips-Spencer, which painted "an alarming state of affairs" that went undetected for years under the PNM administration.

The Newsday report also said Best’s removal from office took place after Rowley returned from a trip to Washington, DC, where he met with the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other top US intelligence officials.

In a later statement, Rowley claimed state agencies had become one with criminal elements. On July 3, he said the audit by Phillips-Spencer found the agency was being run under the influence of a religious cult comprising highly-trained military operators on a treasonous mission to overthrow the Government.

In a later interview with Sunday Newsday, Best insisted he was not an enemy of the State. He also said he believed his dismissal stemmed from his “resistance to political influence.”