00:00Almost five years after a file mysteriously disappeared in the
00:03Melissa's prosecution case of the nine men accused of murdering Vindra Naipaul
00:08Kuhlman and $625,000 paid for a probe, the million-dollar question as to how
00:15that file went missing remains unanswered. This is despite the Attorney
00:19General laying the 81-page final Stanley John report in the Senate today. The
00:25investigative team headed by the retired justice were given nine terms of
00:29reference. An interim report submitted in March of 2023 addressed the first
00:35three terms of reference. One, to inquire into the facts and circumstances
00:39relating to the missing file. Two, to inquire into the role or roles played by
00:45any minister, member of the civil law department or the office of the AG and
00:50Ministry of Legal Affairs in the management of the file. And three, if
00:54there was any dereliction of duty, violation, conflict of interest and or
01:00breach of trust on the part of those persons. But that interim report was not
01:05laid in the upper house today and remains classified. The final report
01:10addresses terms of reference four to nine and though the interim report was
01:15annexed, government did not lay it alongside the body of the full report.
01:21The missing file in question led to the state's failure to file a defense in the
01:25matter and caused the court to award $20 million to the nine accused in the
01:30militia's prosecution case. We contacted the Attorney General to verify if the
01:35omission was in fact an error but he did not up to news time respond to our query.
01:41And while the public may not know how the original voluminous thousands of
01:46pages file went missing, the investigative team however noted the
01:51Solicitor General's neglect to request copies of the documents filed during the
01:55period the matter was ongoing. The report reads, quote, had that been done and the
02:01Solicitor General's department had actively participated in the claim for
02:05militia's prosecution, there is every likelihood that the outcome of the
02:10matter would have been significantly different and may not have reached the
02:14stage of assessment of damages. This demonstrates the lack of initiative
02:19within the civil law department and reinforces the need for urgent reform,
02:23end quote. This as the Solicitor General is the official receiver of originating
02:29court documents to be served on the Attorney General relating to any civil
02:33proceedings initiated against the AG or to which the AG is a party or third
02:39party. Relative to the latter terms of reference, the Stanley John investigation
02:44quote, has not found any facts, circumstances or evidence which in our
02:49opinion may give rise to show or establish the commission of any
02:54disciplinary offense by any officer in the judicial and legal services relating
02:59to the management and conduct of the file. Similarly, it did not find any
03:05evidence that a criminal or fraudulent act occurred. Among the recommendations,
03:10the team questioned whether the Office of the Registrar General should continue
03:13to be a part of the civil law department or not and suggested the urgent strong
03:19need for chambers management in the civil law department. Additionally, that
03:24the government's thrust towards digital transformation must not pass the civil
03:29law department. The Stanley John investigative team was appointed in
03:33February of 2023. The interim report was submitted in March of 2023 and the
03:39final in June of 2023. In December of 2024, Attorney General Reginald Moore,
03:45Senior Counsel, announced the report would be made public following an FOIA
03:50application brought by Siobhan Peters, one of the former accused. Peters'
03:55application was brought through Freedom Law Chambers, the law office of former
04:00Attorney General Anne-Fran Logan, Senior Counsel. Ravishi Tomori, Ruknarine TV6 News.
Comments