Sean Hinds saga: PPP hints government conspiracy to taint party members; AFC chair says no political agenda attached

Last Updated on Tuesday, 28 July 2015, 21:39 by GxMedia

by Zena Henry

General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Clement Rohee has hinted act a conspiracy by the government to taint members of the former government as criminal elements or affiliates.

Rohee’s assertion about a plot against his opposition party came against the background Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes, who is Chairman of the Alliance for Change (AFC) representing self-confessed death squad member Sean Hinds

Hughes accompanied Hinds to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) after repeated calls were made for him to turn himself into the authorities. However, Rohee told Demerara Waves on Monday July 27 that the entire episode is “big joke”. He emphasized his position after hearing that Hughes would represent Hinds and had accompanied him to CID.

“I told you this whole thing is a big joke. It is even clearer now,” he said regarding Hughes’ involvement. Hinds is wanted for questioning after Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo claimed that Hinds had been staking out his at about 8 PM on Tuesday, July 14, 2015.

Rohee again called the episode a big joke, claiming that he would not take Nagamootoo serious before insinuating that the PM’s stake-out story was made up. “If there is anyone in this country who knows Nagamootoo as best as I do, as best as possible politically and otherwise, I am one of them… so I wouldn’t take Nagamootoo’ statement serious… he is good at spinning things, he is good at concocting things, he has a very wildly imaginative view of things.”

However, when contacted Tuesday, Hughes said he could not speak on politics or to any political comments since, “I hold no political office, I am not on any Board and I have no aspirations to ascend to political office.”

The lawyer said he was retained in his personal capacity by Hinds and saw no political agenda attached. The Attorney said that his client has not been accused of any of the 400 deaths (most of which allegedly took place during the reign of the ‘death squad’). Hughes said the police sought an interview with his client and he was not cooperating because of the questions being asked and investigators claimed they had additional “undisclosed” questions for Hinds but did not state what it was about.

Additionally, Hughes noted that the police wanted to detain Hinds for identity confirmation purposes and he made it clear that those were not grounds since such a task required information from the relevant State agencies.

Hughes reiterated that he was hired in his personal capacity. “I can’t speak to a conspiracy. That is the official statement on political positions,” he suggested.

The AFC makes up a great percent of the Coalition government that slimly beat the PPP after their more than two decades reign. The government promised probes, audits and other forms of investigations into the activities of the “corrupt, murderous and criminal PPP regime.”

Hinds went public last week with his involvement in a state-sponsored murder group called ‘death squad.’ He made certain remarks that vaguely incriminated the former PPP government. Also in hot water, is former Suspected political appointees, friends, associates and public servants turned “political agents” for the former party have received the boot. The PPP has called it witch-hunting, discrimination and purging. They say that government is by any means necessary fulfilling election promises of unwarranted incrimination of the party and its members.