Harmon, Nandlall differ on whether Duncan is still in legal hotwater

Last Updated on Thursday, 3 November 2016, 17:41 by Denis Chabrol

One day after a city magistrate dismissed a fraud charge against Carville Duncan, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said the legal woes facing the Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC) are not over.

“Mr. Duncan is charged with several offences; more than one; at least two other offences that are to be dealt with. One of those offences, my understand is, has been dismissed for wont of prosecution and therefore there are still two others to be dealt with,” Harmon told a news conference.

A City Magistrate on Wednesday dismissed the case against Duncan because the prosecution provided no credible evidence to prove that Duncan had stolen more than GYD$980,000 in director’s fees from the Guyana Power and Light (GPL).

President David Granger has already suspended  Duncan as PSC Chairman and member of the Police and Judicial Service Commission.

The Minister of State said after Duncan’s High Court challenge of the Presidential Tribunal has been dealt with, the adjudicating body would present its work to President David Granger.

However, Attorney-at-Law Anil Nandlall has since called on the President to dismantle the tribunal and rescind Duncan’s suspension. “In the circumstances, the President is now obliged to do the decent thing, which is, to disband the Tribunal forthwith and to rescind his suspension of Mr. Duncan from performing his various constitutional functions,” said Nandlall, a former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs.

“As I predicted and cautioned the Tribunal established by the President has now been proven to have embarked upon an unlawful and unconstitutional course of action. This Tribunal therefore, has no legal jurisdiction whatsoever to proceed with its work, even if the Court Order prohibiting it from proceeding, is discharged,” Nandlall added.

Nandlall told Demerara Waves Online News late  Thursday afternoon that if there is a pending charge he would instruct  Duncan’s defence lawyer, Glen Hanoman to bring it up and have it discharged. He reasoned that if there is a pending charge of conspiracy with then Guyana Power and Light (GPL) official Aeshwar Deonarine, then it should be automatically quashed based on the dismissal of the first charge on Wednesday.