Earlier we told you about the UDP's release calling for Compol Chester Williams and Police Minister Kareem Musa to be removed and replaced.
You heard the Compol's response to that earlier, and we also heard from the Minister on that today.
Musa chastised UDP Shadow Minister of National Security Michael Peyrefitte for using this tragic death for political mileage.
Hon. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"I guess he will continue to call for it, but the truth of the matter is that Peyrefitte and others in the United Democratic Party have a huge part to play in where we are in terms of the police department and so even when you look at the recruitment system that they had in place, a lot of the police officers that we have inherited from the previous administration it is all due to political connection. A lot of them don't have high school diplomas, a lot of them did not pass the police exams and so they had a very unfortunate and regrettable system in place and we have certainly try to turn that around, in terms of insisting that there is this minimum criteria that you have to fulfil to become a police officer and there is this training that you have to have to become a police officer, many of which did not exist under their administration and I find it truly regrettable that Mr. Peyrefitte would use an occasion like this which has nothing to do with the Minister of Police, nothing to do with Chester Williams or the C.E.O. and to try to gain some sort of political mileage out of it. That's truly unfortunate and regrettable and I have to apologise to the family on his behalf that they would use something like this. I know they are going through their own turmoil as a political party, but this is not the time or the occasion to be playing politics. Something truly regrettable has happened here. And again not the fault of the Commissioner of Police; the commissioner cannot micromanage every single police officer and this truly comes down to common sense and basic training of handing over. So that police officer who detained and handed over Mr. Uh, I think it is clear to be seen that that individual is responsible. How that fails on a minister or a C.E.O. or a commissioner, it behoves me. And like I said, it is unfortunate that that's the type of political game that they are playing, but I guess the hunger continues."
