Guyana moves to implement witness protection program

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Guyana’s government is moving to implement a witness protection program it hopes will protect whistle blowers in graft and corruption cases involving top officials from the previous administration.

Attorney General Basil Williams said Saturday that public hearings on legislation to enact the plan will begin next month when parliament reconvenes. The move comes after Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan complained last week about the reluctance of witnesses to testify on corruption allegations uncovered by several audits commissioned by the current administration.

Guyana would join several other Caribbean nations in enacting such programs. Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados have active witness protection programs in which witnesses are moved out of the country before and after trials to protect their identities and keep them from being tampered with during trials.