The Women and Gender Equality Commission has called on the authorities to explain the handling of National Border Patrol Director Daniel Seeram’s remand, warning that failures to enforce court orders undermine confidence in the justice system and efforts to protect victims of domestic violence.
In a statement signed by Chairperson Indranie Chandarpal, the Commission described what it said was the police’s failure to promptly hand Seeram over to the Guyana Prison Service as a “flagrant disregard for established Judicial process”.
Seeram was convicted of assaulting his former wife, Farzana Hamid, and causing her actual bodily harm during a September 11, 2023 incident. Magistrate Abigail Gibbs ordered him remanded pending sentencing on November 2.
The Commission said the necessary warrant had been issued for his transfer to prison, but the police had not executed the order with the urgency required, including after the High Court rejected his challenge to the remand decision.
“We therefore call upon the relevant agencies in this case, to explain the rationale of their actions given their mandate,” it stated.
Seeram was convicted and remanded on October 2. On October 3, while considering his application challenging the remand, High Court Justice Joy Persaud-Singh directed that he be kept at the Sparendaam lockups pending the hearing.
The judge dismissed the application on October 5, finding no indication that Magistrate Gibbs had acted unlawfully, irrationally or outside her jurisdiction. The refusal of bail therefore stood. Seeram was not handed over to the prisons until October 9th.
The Commission also questioned the State’s position during the High Court proceedings. It expressed concern that the Deputy Solicitor General had supported Seeram’s challenge to the magistrate’s decision and contended that the magistrate had not been afforded an opportunity to respond.
Kiskadee Watch’s report on the hearing identified Deputy Solicitor General Shoshana Lall as appearing for the respondents. She and Seeram’s attorney, Nigel Hughes, both advanced arguments in favour of his release on bail.
Hughes contended that remanding Seeram before receiving the probation report, victim impact statement and sentencing submissions effectively predetermined a prison sentence. Lall similarly argued that the offence did not carry a mandatory custodial sentence and that there was no new evidence of a flight risk. The judge nevertheless dismissed the application.
The Commission said it had spent more than 15 years encouraging women and other victims of family violence to report abuse and trust the institutions responsible for protecting them.
It warned that the handling of a case involving a senior government official risked undoing that work by reinforcing perceptions that access to justice depended on an offender’s status or connections.
“This case raises the very question of everyone’s equality under the law and undermines all that work, since this case is so public and involves a senior officer of the Government,” the Commission said.
Victims, it added, were less likely to believe they could obtain justice when an abuser held power or appeared to enjoy the backing of powerful persons. It described the circumstances as making a mockery of the process through which victims were urged to seek protection.
Questions about Seeram’s whereabouts persisted after the High Court ruling. In its October 11 report, Kiskadee Watch said the Prison Service had confirmed the preceding Friday that he was not in its custody, while the police had provided no explanation for why he had not been handed over.
That report also carried concerns from Local Government and Regional Development Minister Priya Manickchand, who questioned whether the ordinary procedures following conviction and remand were being followed. She acknowledged Seeram’s right to pursue legal challenges but called for consistent treatment and clarity about any order staying his remand.
Seeram, a former Region Four chairman and PNCR executive, was convicted following a trial at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court. His sentencing is scheduled for November 2 at 10:30 am.
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