THA's BYisrael not allowed to cross-examine cop, JP on warrant to search her home

DEPUTY Chief Secretary Dr Faith BYisrael will not be allowed to question the police officer who obtained a search warrant served on her at her Belle Gardens, Tobago, home in July 2023, or the justice of the peace (JP) who signed off on it.

BYisrael sought to cross-examine WPC Veneta Weaver-Ali and JP Jameel Watch on information allegedly provided by an informant ­­– identified as Akil Abdullah – on assertions involving Chief Secretary Farley Augustine and another person.

The search of BYisrael’s home followed several searches of high-ranking THA officials in a probe into a controversial voice recording in which a man and woman, alleged to be senior THA members, were heard discussing using THA funds to pay workers “lucrative” salaries to spread political propaganda to “shape the narrative.”

BYisrael’s application to cross-examine the two is part of her judicial review claim, filed on January 5 ,which challenges the validity of the warrant obtained under the Interception of Communication Act.

According to BYisrael’s application, on July 17, 2023, a warrant was served on her at her home at 5.35 am. The application said the warrant contained an allegation that BYisrael was suspected of committing a conspiracy to defraud the state.

The application further said the conspiracy disclosed by the warrant – referred to as the Windward warrant – allegedly disclosed that the assembly had hired BYisrael from November 2021 to the present and  paid her state funds "for the sole purpose of carrying on an alleged propaganda machinery.”

On January 8, Justice Frank Seepersad permitted her to pursue her claim against the Police Commissioner and the JP.

At a hearing on October 2, Seepersad dismissed her application to cross-examine Weaver-Ali and Watch and said he intended to give a decision on her substantive lawsuit at the end of January 2025.

In his ruling, Seepersad said he had to determine whether BYisrael was an employee of the THA and whether the execution of the warrant was regular and lawful.

He said having reviewed the affidavits, there were no factual disputes to warrant cross-examination,

“The alleged information revealed by Mr Abdullah on July 19, 2023, does raise serious issues as to whether there was a plot by high-ranking individuals to manipulate public opinion and to use police influence to pursue a path which was driven by motives other than an intent to secure the ends of justice.

“If such a scenario did occur, it speaks to alarming, unethical and undemocratic behaviour which should be roundly rejected as it is inconsistent with the tenets of democracy.

“If the claimant’s concerns can be established then all complicit persons should be exposed and made to account.

“The evidence should be reported to the TTPS’s Anti-Corruption Unit, the Professional Standards Bureau of the TTPS, the Police Complaints Authority and on media platforms.”

However, he said in judicial review proceedings, courts are constrained to determine the issues before it.

He said the issues raised in BYisrael’s application and affidavit were not relevant to the substantive issues he had to determine.

Seepersad has reserved his ruling on costs.

In her lawsuit, the deputy chief secretary wants the warrant quashed and an order for the commissioner to disclose Weaver-Ali’s oath.

She contends the Windward warrant was one of multiple warrants issued against members of the THA and people connected to the assembly as part of an investigation which was “unavoidably coloured in politics.”

Her lawsuit also said the warrants were raised at a special plenary session on July 19, 2023, when THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine addressed the audio recording and the police searches and displayed some of the warrants and a production order that sought employment, accounting and internal documents from the chief administrator.

Augustine, whose home was also searched, also addressed a separate audio-visual recording of so-called whistleblower Akil Abdullah confessing to being coerced to accuse the central government of orchestrating a plot to undermine the current administration in Tobago.

In the recordings, Abdullah initially claimed to have been offered $270,000 in a meeting with government officials to “destroy” Augustine and other THA officials.

In an about-turn, Abdullah allegedly said the entire plot was a farce less than a month later.

In August 2023, Education Secretary Zorisha Hackett and THA employee Kevon Mckenna were charged by the police White Collar Crime Unit for allegedly defying an order of the court by failing to disclose pertinent information on the controversial tape.

The Integrity Commission also launched a probe after an anonymous complaint was lodged with the commission on June 3 under Section 32 of the Integrity in Public Life Act.

BYisrael is represented by Christlyn Moore, Joshua Hamlet and Adanna Joseph-Wallace.

Senior Counsel Russell Martineau, Dominique Martinea, Lianne Thomas, and Murvani Ojah-Maharaj represent the commissioner. Michael Quamina, SC, and Chelvi Ramkissoon represent the JP.