SOCU Boss Rape Probe: Position is not protection
October 12 2026
In what is turning out to be one of the most disgraceful public administration scandals in recent history, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the state executive stand accused of operating a shameless protection racket for top brass.
Opposition Member of Parliament Sherod Duncan and Journalist Leroy Smith are taking the government to the woodshed, demanding the immediate administrative interdiction and removal of Deputy Commissioner of Police Fazil Karimbaksh.
Karimbaksh, the Head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), stands accused of rape and threatening behavior allegedly inflicted upon a female Police Inspector. Yet, instead of being summarily placed on formal administrative leave as mandated by law, the senior officer is dodging real interdiction through administrative sleight-of-hand, even using legal counsel to openly defy instructions while claiming he remains “available for work” and contesting his vacation days.
This institutional double standard, Duncan and Smith warn, is setting a catastrophic precedent that threatens to shatter whatever fragile trust remains in Guyanese law enforcement.
Speaking at a blistering media briefing, MP Sherod Duncan shredded the narrative that high-ranking state officials can simply skirt standard disciplinary protocol when accused of heinous violent crimes.
Allowing an officer under active criminal investigation for rape to retain his post, or shifting him around on procedural “pre-retirement leave” games, threatens to poison the integrity of the entire investigation.
“I’m worried about the signals we are sending to our society- a society where we see criminal activities every day. What does that send to our young people as it pertains to respecting the law, respecting police, respecting authorities?”- MP Sherod Duncan
Duncan pulled no punches regarding the clear danger of evidence tampering and witness intimidation when an accused predator retains power and operational command.
“I think we’re in a very, very dangerous place… He is still actively on the job when an investigation concerning him is ongoing, where he can tamper with that investigation. To remove all of that, Mr. Karimbaksh must proceed on leave and allow the law to take its course. If he’s innocent, that will be adjudicated.”- MP Sherod Duncan
Dismissing cowardly regime excuses that disciplinary steps are paralyzed due to an unconstituted Police Service Commission (PSC), Duncan pointed out that executive and administrative mechanisms exist right now to maintain command discipline. The silence from top government officials, he charged, is a direct challenge to state authority, demonstrating an utter collapse of institutional integrity.
A Slap in the Face of Survivors: Leroy Smith Slams “Pre-Retirement” Farce
Joining the call, BIG Smith News Watch publisher, Journalist Leroy Smith delivered an unsparing takedown of the state’s mishandling of sexual offense allegations. Smith made it crystal clear that shuffling Karimbaksh onto accumulated vacation leave or pre-retirement leave falls dangerously short of standard legal requirements.
“We have a young lady who has said that she was raped. The law is very clear. Once persons are raped or they make reports of rape, those reports have to be investigated. That letter that Karimbaksh got… is a slap in the face of the people of this country. It’s a slap in the face of rape victims, because once you’re accused of such serious offenses, you have to be sent on administrative leave. The law provides for administrative leave.”
– Leroy Smith, BIG Smith News Watch
Smith further dismantled insidious political narratives suggesting that the case cannot proceed unless the survivor publicly parades her trauma across social media or media channels. Under Guyanese law, a formal police report is more than sufficient for state prosecutors to move forward using paper committal proceedings.
“She doesn’t need to come forward. What is concerning is that in this country, you’ve got to come to BIG Smith News Watch or news sources… to talk your story in order for people to act. The law doesn’t say that you only have to have a video interview… before you’re taken seriously. That is nonsense and preposterous.”
– Leroy Smith, BIG Smith News Watch
Calling out executive paralysis at the very top, Smith reminded the nation that the President holds ultimate constitutional authority over top police appointments and does not need to hide behind bureaucracy to act.
“Karimbaksh Cannot Be Bigger Than the Guyana Police Force”
The current spectacle surrounding Deputy Commissioner Karimbaksh is a litmus test for Guyana’s legal framework and the integrity of the Guyana Police Force.
When politically connected senior ranks are shielded, it aggressively discourages survivors across every stratum of society from reporting sexual violence.
Rank, political patronage, and personal friendships must never grant immunity from the law.
As Smith bluntly concluded, “Karimbaksh cannot be bigger than the Guyana Police Force.”
The moment the file reaches the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the law must take its uncompromising course. Anything less is a full-blown betrayal of justice.
