MV Barima murder case: magistrate to rule Monday on defence bid to halt proceedings
A magistrate will decide on Monday whether the murder case against three Transport and Harbours Department crew members charged over the MV Barima disaster can proceed, after the defence asked the court to throw the proceedings out.
Magistrate Ravindra Mohabir set 10:00 AM on Monday, October 19, to rule on the application at the Charity Magistrate’s Court, following the prosecution’s filing of the State’s reply earlier this week.
Defence attorney Dexter Todd, who represents Captain Kevin Price, 40, and goods superintendent Delon Granderson, 33, is seeking a stay of the proceedings on the grounds of alleged abuse of process. The defence’s argument turns on the legal framework governing marine casualty investigations: Todd has contended that his clients were not able to benefit from, or be guided by, the investigations conducted under that framework — including provisions of the Shipping Act — before facing murder charges, and should be afforded the protections the law provides.
Chief Mate Rondell Dwayne Roberts, 42, the third accused, is represented by attorney Everton Singh-Lammy.
The three men appeared virtually on Monday and were further remanded to prison. They were jointly charged with murder following advice from Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, over the deaths of passengers when the 87-year-old ferry capsized on July 18, approximately 9.3 nautical miles off Devonshire Castle on the Essequibo Coast.
The prosecution, led by prosecutor Mandel Moore, filed its response to the defence’s written submissions on Monday. Both sides’ arguments are now before the magistrate.
If the case survives Monday’s ruling, it moves to paper committal proceedings on November 16, when the magistrate will review the written evidence to determine whether there is sufficient basis to send the accused to the High Court for trial. Magistrate Mohabir has said he intends to conclude the committal by the end of November.
The criminal case is running alongside the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the disaster, which began taking formal evidence on Wednesday. Commission Chairman Justice Godfrey Phillip Smith has said the inquiry has not ruled out calling the captain and crew to testify, noting the Commission is required to inform witnesses of their rights so they do not unknowingly prejudice themselves. The DPP has maintained that the criminal proceedings and the inquiry can proceed at the same time.
The MV Barima was carrying 179 people, including 18 crew members, when it went down on the Georgetown-to-Port Kaituma run. Seventy-three people died, 76 survived, and about 30 remain unaccounted for.
The accused first appeared in court on July 28 before Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman in Georgetown, where they were not required to plead to the indictable charge and were remanded.
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