By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ASSISTANT Commissioners of Police Clayton Fernander and Leamond Deleveaux want the recent appointments of four Chief Superintendents to Assistant Commissioners of the Royal Bahamas Police Force to be rescinded.

In a letter this week to Governor General Cornelius Smith, their lawyer, Wayne Munroe, argues the appointments are invalid because they did not flow from a properly constituted Police Service Commission.

Mr Munroe says Official Opposition Leader Philip "Brave" Davis was not consulted on the appointment of the commission as the Constitution requires, rendering the commission invalid. He says if the appointments are not rescinded, he will take legal action on behalf of ACP Fernander and ACP Deleveaux, seeking a declaration that the commission was not properly appointed, is not properly constituted and its recommendations are void.

His letter to the Governor General, sent on Monday, says: "We refer to your appointment of four Chief Superintendents within the Royal Bahamas Police Force to the rank of Assistant Commissioners of police effective 20th April 2020. Article 119(2) of the Constitution of the Bahamas vests the authority to make the appointments acting on the recommendation of the Police Service Commission. Article 118(1) of the Constitution mandates that the chairman and members of the Police Service Commission are to be appointed by you on the recommendation of the prime minister after consultation with the leader of the opposition. We have tried without success to locate a formal documentation of the membership of the purported current Police Service Commission or, information on a PSC being appointed. Further we are advised by the Leader of the Opposition that he was not consulted on the appointment of the purported current Police Service Commission.

"It is our considered opinion that taking that the leader of the opposition was not consulted on the appointment of the purported current Police Service Commission it is not validly composed. In the premises any action based on the recommendation of this invalidly appointed commission would themselves be invalid. This is a matter of public importance as the provision of Article 118 and 119 of the Constitution are defined to insulate the appointment of the higher management level of the Royal Bahamas Police Force from political interference given the powers and authority vested in the force. Our clients are concerned that at a time that an audit of the Royal Bahamas Police Force asserts that the upper ranks of the Royal Bahamas Police Force are overpopulated there are appointments of new Assistant Commissioners of police to assume responsibilities previously discharged by themselves and two other current Assistant Commissioners of police.

"We would therefore request that you initiate whatever investigation you deem appropriate to confirm the facts set out above and their legal implications. We would then ultimately ask that you rescind (these) appointments. We would request that you advise of your proposed course of action. We would respectfully request an indication of your intended action within the next two weeks."

Loretta Mackey, Craig Stubbs and Solomon Cash were appointed Assistant Commissioners with effect from March 30 while Kirkwood Andrews was appointed Acting Assistant Commissioner of police. Although ACP Fernander and ACP Deleveaux remain Assistant Commissioners of police along with ACP Kendal Strachan and ACP Theophilus Cunningham, these four who were directed to take vacation leave last year are not listed on the RBPF's recently revised website on the page featuring the senior executive leadership team.

ACP Cunningham's vacation leave has not yet ended. ACP Strachan is currently suing the government.

ACP Fernander and ACP Deleveaux were among several senior police officers directed to take vacation leave next year. Since returning to duty, they have been transferred to the Ministries of Health and Education respectively. Mr Munroe said yesterday the ministers have yet to explain their roles.

"They are not being utilized," he said. "That is really why they have to object to appointments to a rank when you currently have four people in a rank not being utilized."