Superintendent of Police Rawle Nedd on Friday took the witness stand in the ongoing election fraud trial before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty, recounting a March 2020 bomb threat at the Ashmins building that was ignored by those inside.
The building at High and Hadfield Streets in Georgetown served as the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Command Centre and was the Office of the Returning Officer for Region Four during the March 2020 elections.
Clairmont Mingo, who previously held the position of Returning Officer for Region Four, is no longer in that role. This location was where votes were tabulated and verified.
Nedd, who was at the time an Assistant Superintendent stationed at the Guyana Police Force’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Crime Laboratory, told the court he held multiple responsibilities.
He was the officer-in-charge of the fingerprint department, photography and videography, bomb disposal and detection, the canine unit, and the pathologist’s office.
A certified crime scene investigation and management technician with training in the United States, India, El Salvador, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana, Nedd said that on March 5, 2020, at around 10:35 hrs, he received a report from then Crime Chief Michael Kingston about a bomb threat made against the Ashmins Building.
Nedd testified that he led a team and responded to the call. He explained that Inspector Dyal, who was in charge of the bomb unit, gathered the necessary ranks for the operation.
The policeman said a team of about 10 police officers, mostly male, was mobilised and dispatched to the location with the required equipment.
He stated that when they arrived, the building had already been cordoned off by other police officers, including Senior Superintendent Edgar Thomas, who was serving as the commander of Regional Division Four ‘A’ at the time.
According to Nedd, Inspector Dyal and Thomas went into the Ashmins Building and advised the occupants that a bomb threat had been reported and that the building needed to be evacuated for a proper search to be conducted.
However, he noted that those inside refused to comply. “No one adhered to the instruction that there was a bomb call for us to go in and search,” Nedd recounted.
He stated that by 12:40 hrs, the team had still not been able to conduct the search. Nedd further stated that he later informed the Crime Chief of the situation and returned to CID Headquarters, where the failed operation was documented in the station diary.
The Superintendent told the court that from the time he arrived at the Ashmins Building to the time he departed, no explosion occurred. He added that he was never informed of any explosion taking place thereafter.
In August 2020, Nedd said he prepared an official statement on the incident after being instructed to do so by Senior Superintendent Caesar, who informed him that an investigation into the matter was underway.
The election fraud trial is scheduled to resume on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
The trial involved nine defendants, including former GECOM officials and members of the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition government, who were charged with conspiracy to defraud in connection with the 2020 elections.
Among the accused are GECOM’s former Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, his then Deputy, Roxanne Myers, and Mingo.
Also charged are members of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Carol Smith-Joseph and Volda Lawrence. The remaining defendants are GECOM employees Michelle Miller, Enrique Livan, Sheffern February, and Denise Babb-Cummings.
Collectively, they face 19 charges related to conspiracy to defraud and other alleged misconduct surrounding the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections. All have pleaded not guilty and are out on bail.
As the trial progresses, the prosecution led by King’s Counsel Darshan Ramdhan has indicated plans to call over 70 witnesses, including GECOM Chairperson Justice Claudette Singh.
The prosecution contends that the nine defendants intentionally inflated the results for Region Four to reflect a victory for the APNU+AFC while simultaneously reducing the vote count for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
The March 2, 2020, elections sparked a prolonged political standoff, eventually resolved through a national recount led by GECOM and a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) team. The recount confirmed a PPP/C victory, with 233,336 votes to the APNU+AFC’s 217,920.
