Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed on Thursday questioned the independence of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the MV Barima disaster, alleging that one of its commissioners, Captain Hamada Fowda, has a close personal relationship with President  Irfaan Ali and may have played a role in selecting members of the panel.

Speaking shortly after the five-member international commission was sworn in, Mohamed alleged that Fowda’s ties to the President, together with other publicly disclosed professional relationships involving another commissioner, raise serious concerns about the impartiality of the inquiry into one of Guyana’s deadliest maritime disasters.

“Captain Hamada Fowdar, one of the commissioners, has several business interests in Guyana, including involvement with the Maritime School at Friendship on the East Bank of Demerara, and the upscale Laiali restaurant at the Pegasus Hotel. The captain is close to President Irfaan, and information reaching us is that he had a hand in selecting other commissioners,” Mohamed alleged.