By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Thursday 13th April 2022) — Well-known political commentator Dwyer Astaphan has given his opinion on the decision of Deputy Prime Minister Shawn Richards to boycott Cabinet meetings in protest of wanting his name removed from the Las Lap Bar police report of January 2022. Astaphan stated: “It does not appear to be the right decision by Mr. Richards especially in a dysfunctional cabinet where his absence might be used by the Prime Minister to further weaken Mr. Richards and his party. By removing himself for nearly three months, Mr. Richards has deprived the residents of Sandy Point and the people of this country of his representation of their interests in the most important forum of executive decision making in this country, that is the Cabinet.”
Astaphan explained the legal reality: “If a Task Force officer or a police officer writes a report and mentions someone’s name in that report, only the officer can properly remove that name. No superior officer, not even the Commissioner of Police, has the authority to change that report as he pleases, because the report is the report of the officer who filed it. It is not the Commissioner’s report. Any change in the report, if made, has to be made by the reporting officer with honest intent to correct an error that is there.”
“There can be no justification for removing the name of a person who was present, worse so simply because that person objects to his name being on the record as being present — whether he be drain sweeper, domestic worker, doctor or deputy prime minister. You can complain as much as you like but the report is the report. This is my humble and respectful opinion.” Astaphan also noted that since Richards has not been implicated or charged with any wrongdoing, the public has no reason to lower him in their esteem: “I must admit that I am having some difficulty understanding why Mr. Richards is reacting the way he is.”