Watts/ Karimbaksh to be McBean’s seniors in Deputy Commissioners promotion

Assistant Commissioners of Police Administration Ravindradat Bhudram, Law Enforcement Wendell Blanhum, Operations Errol Watts, Head of Special Organized Crime Unit Fizal Karimbaksh, and Regional Commander 4A Simon McBean will all be promoted to the rank of Deputy Commissioners of Police in the order listed here.

The pending promotions of the officers were confirmed by this publication on Tuesday morning, 08, October 2024.

Except for Assistant Commissioners McBean and Blanhum, the other three candidates have all had incidents that have tainted their policing careers at some point.

Assistant Commissioner Bhudram was transferred out of ‘F’ Division during the David Granger Administration after a plane with cocaine landed at an illegal airstrip while he was commander. There was also an incident where under his command while stationed in the then Police B Division as a sub-divisional officer, alleged cocaine which was confiscated by the police, was swapped and replaced with flour.

Assistant Commissioner Errol Watts and his ability to effectively supervise and command came into question when as an Assistant Commissioner of Police, he was seen on video tumbling to the ground as he wrestled with a civilian in Region 3. There was also the issue where while he headed Special Branch, operatives from that unit chased down a car driven by a police sergeant and opened fire on it in a case of mistaken identity. Assistant Commissioner Watts rose to fame when he was accused of stealing state fuel and pumping gas into his private vehicle while stationed in the then Police ‘B’ Division.

Assistant Commissioner Karimbaksh is also no stranger to attracting negative press to himself.  Most notable whenever the name Karimbaksh is mentioned, there are many sex allegations which have been levelled against him over years and dotted his policing career involving serving members of the Guyana Police Force.

The promotion of the five officers is likely to see a major shift in the regional, branch, and departmental command structures within the Guyana Police Force. The promotions are slated to take place before the end of October.