Brutus, Watts, Blanhum among 8 promoted to Assistant Police Commissioner

Eight senior officers of the Guyana Police Force were on Sunday finally promoted to Assistant Commissioner of Police after a two-year delay in promotions.

The ranks who were all Senior Superintendents include Calvin Brutus, Fizal Karimbaksh, Ravindranauth Budhram, Wendell Blanhum, Mahendra Sewnarine, Errol Watts, Khali Pareshram and Kurleigh Simon.

Brutus is the acting Deputy Commissioner of Police with responsibility for Administration while Karimbaksh heads the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU).

Blanhum serves as the acting Crime Chief while Sewnarine, Pareshram and Simon are all Divisional Commanders for Regions 3, 4 ‘C’ and 5, respectively.

Watts is the Head of the Special Branch and Budhram is the acting Deputy Commissioner with responsibility for Operations.

Senior ranks have not received a promotion since 2020 after five senior police officers challenged the Police Service Commission (PSC) in the High Court over the 2020 year-end promotion list.

Brutus, Blanhum, Budhram, Watts and Karimbaksh had been recommended for promotion to Assistant Commissioner of Police, however, the Police Service Commission had decided to only promote Blanhum, Watts and Budhram along with three other senior officers.

Brutus had moved to the High Court to block the promotions as he complained that the PSC, chaired then by retired former senior cop, Paul Slowe, was acting unlawfully and irrationally.

Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George, in June last, struck out the legal challenge.

President Ali suspended the entire PSC on June 16, 2021, but the life of the Commission came to an end in August 2021.

In May this year, the new Commission was fully constituted and is being chaired by Bishop Patrick Findlay who had said at the time that he intends to immediately confront the arduous task of police promotions.