Duane Daniel appointed to act as DPP

Lawyer Duane Daniel has been appointed to act as Director of Public Prosecutions, amid a spate of resignations from that office, where the former post holder, Sejilla McDowall, has been appointed to act as a High Court judge.

iWitness News is unaware that the government has made a formal announcement, but multiple sources have confirmed the appointment to iWitness News.

It has been rumoured for weeks amongst members of the legal fraternity that Daniel was the lawyer to whom Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves had referred when he announced in Parliament on Aug. 8 that “an experienced lawyer from the private sector” would be appointed to act as DPP.

Daniel has about two decades of experience at the bar and has been involved in a number of high-profile civil and criminal matters.

Of note, he was a member of the government’s legal team in the election petition brought by the opposition New Democratic Party after the 2015 general elections, which the High Court dismissed, after a full trial, for a lack of evidence. 

Also, he defended Karim Nelson, then an assistant DPP, when he was tried in November 2021 alongside Senator Ashelle Morgan, on charges related the the shooting of Diamond resident Cornelius John at his home on April 13, 2021.

The court upheld no case submissions by Daniel as well as Morgan’s lawyer, Ronnie Marks. 

Daniel, who has a background in theatre and literature, is known for his comprehensive closing submissions and submissions on sentencing, which often employ figurative language and quotations from the classics. 

He was also the lawyer for Devon “Chiefman” Charles, then 38, when he was acquitted Oct. 3, 2023, on a murder charge — his fourth such acquittal —  related to the Aug. 2, 2020, murder of a fellow New Montrose resident, Kimron Hannaway, 28, aka “Warlord” and “Dog Man”. 

The jury, however, convicted Charles on a related charge of possession of a firearm with intent to commit an offence, to wit murder, for which he was jailed for 18 years.

Daniel had signalled his intention to appeal that conviction and sentence. 

Gonsalves had said that the appointment would be from Sept. 1 to the end of December”.

The prime minister, who is also the minister of legal affairs, had made the announcement even as he had said there was no need for “any sense of disquiet” amidst the resignations from the Office of the DPP.

McDowall has been appointed to act as judge from Sept. 1 to Feb. 28, 2026, even as neither of the two assistant DPP posts has been filled after their holders vacated to take up posts elsewhere.

Gonsalves had said he knew there had been some questions in the public domain among some people after McDowall’s appointment to act as a judge, assigned to Dominica.

“We will know whether that assignment morphs from temporary into permanent sometime during that six-month tenure,” the prime minister had said.

“And then, we ourselves, obviously, have to make a decision for a recommendation by the honourable Attorney General in the normal processes of consultation as to someone who would finally be appointed DPP, just in case the incumbent doesn’t come back from her temporary judgeship.”

The prime minister had spoken days after two more crown counsel left the prosecution service, leaving the Office of the DPP under even more strain.

The sudden resignation of Senior Counsel Richie Matiland, a Grenadian, on July 29, and the resignation of Allana Cumberbatch left the office with just four crown counsel, two of whom were said to be planning to leave.

Of the remaining prosecutors, the most senior has been a lawyer for 12 years, followed by another who was called to the bar five years ago. 

The two most junior crown counsel have less than three years’ and less than one year’s call, respectively.

No assistant DPP was appointed after Karim Nelson quit to take up a post overseas some time ago, and Tammika McKenzie was appointed a senior magistrate on April 1, 2024.

Sources told iWitness News that Maitland’s sudden resignation hours after the closing of the assizes came as a shock to his colleagues.

iWitness News was reliably informed that Maitland resigned because of the actions of a very senior police officer, which the prosecutor felt left him exposed to the same criminals that he prosecutes as well as their accomplices and associates.

Sources have said that some people in the Ministry of Legal Affairs were ruffled by an iWitness News article on July 28 that reported that Maitland had not appeared in court in months, reportedly as he awaited the resolution of a matter by the Attorney General’s Chambers.

The following day, during the closing of the assizes, defence counsel Grant Connell had spoken in open court about Maitland’s absence from court for months.