Kamla: Chief Justice must come clean on $20m file

OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar is again calling on Chief Justice Ivor Archie to “come clean” and say if newly-appointed judge, Justice Karen Reid-Ballantyne was the judicial officer who reportedly returned the “missing,” but now found, malicious prosecution file of the nine men once accused of the murder of Vindra Naipaul-Coolman.

In a release on Thursday, Persad-Bissessar said the matter cannot be swept under the carpet.

“After all, the allegation that the trial was conducted by then assistant Solicitor General Karen Reid-Ballantyne, without a file, is being made by the Attorney General, who represents the State and is the titular head of the Bar.”

She also said she was concerned by the Chief Justice’s response to questions posed to him by herself and the media.”The plot hatched and publicised by the Attorney General to cover up his own incompetence and mismanagement of his ministry has been totally discredited.

“No rational or sensible person, with an ounce of common sense, believes his ‘Nancy story’ that the file went missing, and that is why he was unable to defend the $20 million claim,” she said.

The Opposition Leader said to compound the “folly” was the claim by the Government that the file had been returned to the acting SG, “in the wake of the UNC’s demands for Justice Reid-Ballantyne to break her silence on the “malicious and serious” allegation she conducted the assessment trial without the relevant file.

The Opposition Leader said on Monday she wrote to Archie on the matter and the Judiciary on Wednesday said it will not be responding to questions on the matter because of the investigation launched by the government.

Persad-Bissessar says new questions have surfaced, demanding to now know who was the judicial officer who returned the file; why was there no immediate correction by the AG that the file was not missing or that the “sinister” plot alleged by Armour on February 1, was not true.

She also wants to know why two retired judges were hired to investigate the “missing file,” and not the ministry’s permanent secretary and the cost of the investigation to taxpayers.

She said because of the principle of separation of powers, it was imperative that the Judiciary make an independent statement to clear the air on the débâcle.

“This investigation is a ridiculous farce and the Judiciary should avoid giving it any credibility because of the obvious adverse impact on the integrity and reputation of the administration of justice.”

Persad-Bissessar also repeated her call for the judge to provide answers while calling on the AG to “end the charade of a silly investigation” because “his conspiracy and plot had fallen apart.