AG & Dames reject any notion of political interference in DNA detention

AG & Dames reject any notion of political interference in DNA detention
Minister of National Security Marvin Dames.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Attorney General Carl Bethel and Minister of National Security Marvin Dames yesterday rejected any notion that the detention of Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Leader Arinthia Komolafe, and at least nine other DNA members, was a result of political influence.

In separate interviews outside the Churchill Building, the attorney general and minister of national security stressed that no one is above the law and the police force was the appropriate agency to investigate the alleged breaches.

Komolofe and others were questioned for over five hours at the Central Police Station on Monday in relation to a demonstration on March 3, during which the commissioner said the group “forcibly sought to gain their way into the Parliament”.

Yesterday, Dames said the commissioner updated him on the matter.

He said while the demonstration without a permit and the repeated warning from offices that the DNA was obstructing traffic was a breach, there was a bigger issue.

“The bigger problem was this: they proceeded to overrun the officers and take over Parliament and I believe there are video clippings to that effect,” Dames told the media.

“I saw nothing from the media expressing dismay about persons who are seeking leadership in this country.

“First and foremost, they did not have a permit — the police, I guess, were willing to overlook that. And the fact they tried to overrun Parliament and hurt officers in the process, it was recorded by some of these media houses and nothing was said to say that was wrong.”

Dames said the commissioner also advised him that his officers did not take action at the time because he did not want it to appear that he was doing something wrong or to interrupt Parliament.

The minister asked if the commissioner should have ignored the breach and awaited a similar occurrence such as the riot in Washington before taking action.

In January, demonstrators in support of then-President Donald Trump decried the certification of the US Electoral College vote, as the US Congress was set to confirm that President-elect Joe Biden won the country’s election 306-232.

The violent mob pushed past police barricades and clashed with law enforcement and destroyed property.

Lawmakers, who were in session, scrambled into hiding with gas masks as the massive swarm marched into the Capitol.

Attorney General Carl Bethel.

Dames said the commissioner acted in good faith.

Meanwhile, Bethel said: “It is so disturbing to me — the suggesting is implicit in a lot of the criticism — that there is a class of Bahamians, namely the political class, who are immune to the rule of law.

“We are a constitutional democracy.

“That means that everybody is subject to the rule of law and the appropriate agency to investigate any alleged breach of the law is the police.

“Therefore, the commissioner of police acts in his own deliberate judgment pursuant to the Constitution to perform his duty to investigate any allegation of a breach of the law.”

Bethel said while there a distinction between political action and crime, there are times when “political action may cross a line”.

When asked if he believes there was a breach of the law, Bethel said he had no personal view on the matter and it was not his job to determine that.

He discouraged speculation on the matter.

He said once the police force and commissioner make a determination, a recommendation will be made to the director of public prosecutions.

About Royston Jones Jr.

Royston Jones Jr. is a senior digital reporter and occasional TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. Since joining Eyewitness News as a digital reporter in 2018, he has done both digital and broadcast reporting, notably providing the electoral analysis for Eyewitness News’ inaugural election night coverage, “Decision Now 2021”.