Fire Chief gets bail on private charge for allegedly removing firefighters from promotion list
Fire Chief Kamaladeen Edoo was on Monday arraigned before City Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus on a private charge filed by firefighter Neville Cumberbatch who complained of a discriminatory promotion practice.
Edoo is accused of allegedly removing Cumberbatch’s name from the Guyana Fire Service promotion list.
He appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and was not required to enter a plea to the charge which alleged that in his role as the statutory and general superintendent of the GFS, he unlawfully discriminated against Cumberbatch by removing his name from a list of persons deemed eligible for consideration for promotion by former Chief Fire Chief Marlon Gentle on January 29, 2021.
It is alleged by Cumberbatch that his name was removed on the basis of disciplinary infractions, whilst retaining on the same list persons who were guilty of equal and more egregious disciplinary infractions contrary to the provisions of Section 5. (2). (d) Prevention of Discrimination Act Cap 99:08.
Eddo was represented by attorney Sase Gunraj, who asked the court for his client to be released on self-bail; however, the Magistrate released Edoo on $10,000 bail and adjourned the matter until October 11, 2021.
Cumberbatch is among 30 firefighters who were allegedly removed from the promotion list without a hearing. Those who had committed departmental infractions said they have already been punished.
Some of the fire officers were charged departmentally and/or had their pay deducted. Meanwhile, other officers contested that while there was no pending infraction against them their pay was deducted and their names were removed from the list also.
