Haiti: Many believe Judge Garry Orelien is incapable of probing Moise's assassination

Haiti: A new judge has been appointed to oversee the enquiries related to the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Garry Orelien's appointment comes weeks after Judge Mathieu Chanlatte resigned on August 13, citing personal reasons.

Now, many are criticising Garry Orelien's appointment; people are declaring him inexperience and incapable of handling a massive investigation.

He was previously appointed as a substitute judge in Saint-Marc and Croix-des-Bouquets and transferred to the Port-au-Prince court in December 2020.

Haitian Minister of Justice and Public Security Rockfeller Vincent tweeted on Monday that he is attempting to make all-important resources available to Judge Garry Orelien so that he could move forward with the investigations. He said all efforts would be made to provide full resources to those associated with the investigations.

Pierre Esperance- Executive director of the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), told VOA that Garry Orelien is a "bad choice". He said Orelien is not the type of person who could handle such a big face.

Esperance said the entire world is closely following the case, and a more capable, experienced and person who follows the rule of law is needed to oversee the investigations.

Besides Esperance, many others, including the leader of the Haitian Council of Non-State Actors, Pastor Edouard Paultre, Former Senator Jean Renel Senatus, Lawyer Marie Rosy Auguste Ducéna, has asked the government to appoint a full panel of judges to investigate the assassination.

The government has been struggling to appoint a suitable person to oversee the investigations; however, due to the fear of being killed, it has become a challenged to appoint a person. Recently, Judge Mathieu, whom Prime Minister Ariel had described as "fearless", resigned following the murder of his close ally. President Jovenel Moise was assassinated on July 07, 2021, by masked mercenaries at his personal residence in Haiti's most luxurious suburbs. His wife Martine Moise was badly injured in the attack and was taken to Miami, Florida, for further medical assistance. While many arrests have been made, it is suspected that the real masterminds are still at large.