Last Updated on Friday, 28 August 2026, 0:11 by Denis Chabrol
FILE PICTURE: Mr Paul Slowe arrested by police in the compound of the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on October 15, 2021.
Retired Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Slowe has been awarded GY$2 million by the High Court for wrongful arrest in the precincts at the Georgetown Magistrate where he had gone in response to a summons previously assisted to him by that court.
High Court Judge, Nicole Pierre awarded GY$800,000 in compensatory damages for assault, battery and false imprisonment and a further GY$200,000 in vindicatory damages for the breach of Mr. Slowe’s constitutional right to personal liberty, emphasising that police powers must be exercised strictly according to law, according to one of Mr Slowe’s lawyer, Nigel Hughes, on his Facebook page.
Mr Slowe, who is also a former Chairman of the Police Service Commission, was unlawfully arrested and detained on October 15, 2021.
In a judgment delivered on August 24, 2026, Mr Hughes said Justice Pierre found that Mr. Slowe’s constitutional right to personal liberty, protected by Article 139 of Guyana’s Constitution, had been infringed when officers restrained him at the Magistrates’ Court despite his attendance pursuant to a court summons and despite objections that there was no lawful basis for his arrest.
The State admitted liability for assault, battery and false imprisonment, Mr Hughes also said.
He said the High Court held that although the restraint lasted approximately ten minutes, the circumstances were serious. Mr. Slowe was attending court in response to a summons in the very matter for which officers sought to arrest him. The lawyer said the restraint continued even after attorneys-at-law informed the officers that the arrest was unlawful. “The incident occurred in public view and was recorded and later disseminated through traditional and social media,” said Mr Hughes who also appeared with lawyer, Kiswana Jefford.
“The Court underscored the importance of constitutional protections against arbitrary arrest and detention and the need to vindicate those rights where they are infringed,” he said.
The Court entered judgment in favour of Mr. Slowe in the sum of G$1,000,000 and awarded costs of G$250,000.
This decision reaffirms the fundamental constitutional principle that no person may be deprived of liberty except in accordance with the law, and that public authorities will be held accountable where those rights are violated.
