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January 15, 2026
January 15, 2026
January 15, 2026
January 15, 2026
The High Court has ordered Magistrate Tameika Clarke to recuse herself from five cases brought by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), citing apparent bias arising from her prior legal dispute with the unit.
According to a SOCU release, the ruling was delivered on Friday, January 9, 2026, by Acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh, who granted SOCU’s application for judicial review, including declarations and an order of mandamus compelling the magistrate’s recusal and directing that the matters be reassigned to another sitting magistrate.
SOCU had contended that Magistrate Clarke’s continued involvement in the cases was improper, unreasonable and unfair, given that in November 2022, while in private practice, she had filed constitutional proceedings against the unit. In November 2023, the State accepted liability and the court awarded her damages.
In July 2024, SOCU instituted money laundering charges against Ian Jacobis and three others, and separately charged Ivor Scipio with offences relating to the illegal exportation of gold. The matters were assigned to Magistrate Clarke in September 2025 and were set to commence in October 2025.
SOCU prosecutors applied for Magistrate Clarke to recuse herself, citing her prior civil dispute with the unit, but the application was refused. SOCU subsequently filed judicial review proceedings in the High Court seeking declarations and an order of mandamus.
After hearing arguments, Acting Chief Justice Singh ruled that the prior legal dispute between Magistrate Clarke and SOCU was personal and not merely a professional disagreement arising during the course of legal practice. He held that justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done, and that under Guyana’s Code of Ethics for Judicial Officers, a judicial officer should disqualify himself or herself where there has been prior personal involvement giving rise to a reasonable appearance of bias.
SOCU was represented by attorney-at-law and prosecutor David Brathwaite, while Magistrate Clarke was represented by Solicitor General Nigel Hawke and attorneys from the Attorney General’s Chambers.
