Budna Abduction Investigation Back with Police Amid Scrutiny

The Joseph Budna abduction case is back in the hands of police tonight, after the investigation was briefly shifted to the Director of Public Prosecutions. That change came after weeks of public pressure for a private probe, something the government initially approved. But Belize’s laws don’t provide for private investigations. Now, critics say having the DPP lead the process means police will be investigating their own officers, raising serious questions. Today, Public Service Minister Henry Charles Usher defended the decision, stressing that the DPP is constitutionally independent and responsible for deciding whether criminal charges should be filed.

 

Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Public Service

“Right now the police are authorized are legislated to carry out investigations. You can also have the ombudsman carrying out limited investigations. If the Prime Minister appoints a commission of inquiry or if the Senate has a Senate Special Select inquiry. Those are the types of investigations that can happen. Now, whether you want to see that another set of, I should have looked at the same report. That’s what the DPP is doing right now. Her office is responsible for looking at this report. Determining if further investigations are needed, determining if any charges can be filed based on the report.”

 

Reporter

“That report should have gone to the DPP from the very beginning, it was held. Wouldn’t, call that interference by the cabinet?”

 

Henry Charles Usher

“Absolutely not. The report going over to the DPP, it’s going now. It’s not an interference. It’s remember the public was calling for another set of eyes to look at the document, the attorney general gave the advice from his department to say, listen, it’s a DPP that is constitutionally authorized to look at this report to determine if any charges are to be filed or not. It’s not like the report has changed since it was first submitted. So I believe that this is the correct process in terms of what the final outcome should be. The DPPs office should be the one looking at the report to determine if any charges should be filed.”