The opposition is exploiting a sensitive social and legal issue to achieve their political end

Whatever decision is taken on the Henry Greene matter, whether by himself or the government, Guyana should take careful note of what is going on. The opposition – in all its combinations and permutations – is exploiting a sensitive social and legal issue to achieve their political end. Lurlene Nestor is the latest APNU partisan to exploit this “occasion” for their war. The sensitive issue is that of rape. None of us can deny the trauma that women endure through this heinous act.

But like any crime, to allege its commission is not enough to convict the alleged perpetrator. In our judicial system the DPP is given a tremendous leeway to decide whether there is sufficient evidence under the law to charge the alleged perp. The DPP’s discretion, however, is not infinite: the test is whether a conviction is rationally likely. He/she cannot be wilful or capricious.
And it is the courts that decide whether the DPP has not exceeded her remit. Nestor is wilfully ignorant of this simple fact. The case is a landmark one all right. It has identified a remedy for vigilante prosecutions, prodded by vigilante mobs. OK Nestor and APNU?