The Government’s insistence that the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the MV Barima tragedy will be independent is facing renewed scrutiny after evidence surfaced that Minister of Labour and Manpower Planning Keoma Griffith, who was appointed to the post in September 2025, was until recently listed as part of the team at the Trinidad and Tobago law firm founded by one of the inquiry’s commissioners.

A visit to the website of N.D. Alfonso & Company on Thursday found that Griffith’s name is no longer listed among the firm’s personnel. However, archived versions of the website and screenshots reviewed by this publication show Griffith featured as the firm’s Guyana Consultant under its “Our Team” section, with his chambers address also identified as the firm’s Guyana contact.

The firm’s founding partner is Trinidadian Senior Counsel Nyree Dawn Alfonso, one of the five commissioners appointed by President Dr. Irfaan Ali to investigate the country’s worst maritime disaster.