Fizal Karimbaksh: Longstanding Questions Surround Senior Guyana Police Officer’s Career and Controversial Record
GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Questions surrounding the career of senior Guyana Police Force officer Fizal Karimbaksh have resurfaced, particularly over allegations dating back more than two decades and the circumstances surrounding his subsequent rise through the ranks of the police force.
One of the most serious allegations concerns an incident said to have occurred on December 12, 2001, when Karimbaksh was allegedly involved in the shooting of Vincent Mandingi Griffith, who was reportedly a 12-year-old student of Berbice High School at the time.
According to the account circulating about the incident, Griffith was shot in the leg. The circumstances surrounding the shooting, including the exact sequence of events, the findings of any investigation and whether criminal or disciplinary proceedings were initiated, require documentary confirmation.
The Griffith family is reportedly still seeking answers more than two decades later. Questions have also been raised about what action, if any, was taken against the police officer following the incident.
Questions About Accountability
At the time, Paul Slowe was Commander of B Division. Critics of the handling of the matter have questioned whether the incident was properly investigated and why Karimbaksh was able to continue his police career.
Those questions are particularly significant given Karimbaksh’s subsequent advancement within the Guyana Police Force.
Public records and contemporary reporting confirm that Karimbaksh went on to occupy a series of senior positions within the force. In 2014, for example, he was appointed Personal Assistant to then Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud.
He later served in senior operational and training positions before becoming head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU).
In August 2020, Kaieteur News reported that Senior Superintendent Karimbaksh had been appointed to head SOCU after previously serving as commander of the force’s E Division.
By 2022, he had been promoted to Assistant Commissioner of Police, with News Room Guyana reporting that he was continuing to head SOCU.
More recent Guyanese government reporting identifies him as a Deputy Commissioner of Police and head of SOCU.
Controversy During Police Training
Another area of controversy concerns allegations made against Karimbaksh while he was involved in police training.
In 2021, Village Voice News reported allegations that female police recruits had accused Karimbaksh of sexual misconduct. The report attributed the allegations and details concerning disciplinary proceedings to then-PSC member Clinton Conway.
According to that account, an investigation had been conducted and a recommendation was made for disciplinary charges under the Police Discipline Act. The report further stated that Karimbaksh challenged the matter in court but lost. Other allegations involving female trainees were also reported, although those allegations should not be treated as proven misconduct without reference to the underlying disciplinary and court records.
Separately, official Guyanese government reporting confirms that Karimbaksh held senior responsibilities within police training. In 2018, the Department of Public Information identified him as Acting Force Training Officer and reported his involvement in the training of new police recruits.
A 2019 government report also identified him as Deputy Force Training Officer at the Felix Austin Police College during a graduation ceremony for special constables.
From Police Operations to SOCU
Karimbaksh’s career has included assignments in several important areas of the Guyana Police Force.
His previous positions included divisional command responsibilities and work at Police Headquarters. His appointment as Personal Assistant to Commissioner Seelall Persaud was officially reported in 2014.
His later appointment to SOCU placed him at the center of some of Guyana’s most sensitive financial-crime and corruption investigations.
SOCU’s work has brought the unit into contact with senior public officials and police officers facing allegations of financial wrongdoing. In 2024, for example, Karimbaksh appeared in court documents relating to SOCU’s investigation into Assistant Commissioner Calvin Brutus, with Karimbaksh stating that the investigation involved hundreds of potential charges and approximately GY$800 million.
Karimbaksh has also faced criticism over the manner in which SOCU has operated. A 2021 opinion published by Stabroek News alleged that SOCU was operating outside its intended remit and questioned Karimbaksh’s qualifications and management of the unit. Those were the author’s claims, rather than findings established by the newspaper itself.
Recent Police Controversy
Karimbaksh’s role again attracted public attention in May 2026, following a roadside incident involving police officers.
The Guyana Police Force said its Office of Professional Responsibility was investigating an incident involving a senior officer, a corporal and a constable after a video circulated online. Reports identified the senior officer as Deputy Commissioner Karimbaksh.
Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken subsequently said senior officers must follow established procedures when intervening in operations conducted by junior ranks.
Karimbaksh later disputed the Commissioner’s characterization of the investigation and said he could not be investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility in the manner described.
The dispute demonstrates that questions surrounding Karimbaksh’s conduct and authority have continued well beyond the earlier controversies associated with his career.
The Paul Slowe Connection
The history involving Paul Slowe is also important to understanding the political and institutional context surrounding Karimbaksh.
In 2020, Slowe chaired the Police Service Commission when Karimbaksh and several other senior officers were considered for promotion. News Room Guyana reported that Karimbaksh was among five senior officers who had been recommended for promotion to Assistant Commissioner, while the then-PSC initially chose not to promote him.
The dispute over promotions eventually became part of broader legal and institutional battles involving senior members of the Guyana Police Force and the Police Service Commission.
Karimbaksh was ultimately promoted to Assistant Commissioner in July 2022, along with seven other senior officers.
Claims that Karimbaksh personally holds a grudge against Slowe, or that his subsequent actions were motivated by retaliation, remain allegations unless supported by direct evidence or findings from a court or other competent authority.
A Career That Continues to Raise Questions
The controversy surrounding Fizal Karimbaksh therefore spans several stages of his career — from allegations concerning an incident involving a child in 2001, through senior police appointments and training responsibilities, to disciplinary allegations and more recent disputes concerning his conduct as head of SOCU.
At the same time, publicly available records show that Karimbaksh has continued to rise within the Guyana Police Force despite the controversies surrounding him. His progression to Deputy Commissioner and leadership of SOCU is documented by Guyanese government and news sources.
The unanswered questions surrounding the alleged 2001 shooting of Vincent Mandingi Griffith remain particularly significant. If the Griffith family has not received a satisfactory explanation or determination after more than two decades, records concerning the original police investigation, disciplinary proceedings, prosecutorial decisions and any subsequent court action would be essential to establishing what actually occurred.
For that reason, claims about the incident should be distinguished from documented findings. The available sources reviewed for this article confirm Karimbaksh’s subsequent career history and several later controversies, but do not independently establish the details of the 2001 Griffith shooting or prove that Karimbaksh committed wrongdoing in that incident.
The broader question remains one of institutional accountability: how allegations involving police officers are investigated, what disciplinary mechanisms are applied, and whether those processes provide meaningful remedies to people who claim to have been harmed by law-enforcement personnel.
