Oscar Mira Defends Alberto August Complaint That Eventually Sparked Contract Controversy

Police Minister and Minister of Home Affairs, Oscar Mira, could not say whether he has any regrets over filing a complaint with police against former ministry employee Alberto August.  It is this very complaint that ultimately opened the Pandora box of questions surrounding government contracts awarded to members of the Mira family.  During an interview with the media today, Minister Mira was asked whether, in hindsight, he regretted pursuing the complaint given the scrutiny it has generated.

Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs: “I think I must correct you. I did not levy any charges. I did not ask anyone to levy any charges. I am not a policeman. I can’t levy charges on no one. I did not file a charge either. What I did was I made a complaint. I went and I made a complaint.”

Reporter: Do you regret ti though ? 

Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs:  “I made a complaint because I felt that it was what I needed to do after I got advice on what I should have done. You don’t, after a tragedy that happened here in Belmopan you don’t try to get cheap political mileage out of a tragedy that impacted the community, that impacted the whole city of Belmopan and the medical community. There was a family that was very very crying for the loss of someone who has contributed so much to this city and to the wider community and to the wider. And I just felt that those words that I did not say, I made a complaint and I went to the police department to make a complaint that those were not my words. Whatever it is that he said, whatever type of I don’t know how they call it, you don’t do that in those circumstances and I truly believe as a citizen I made that as a citizen I didn’t make that as the Minister of Police and he was afforded the same procedure like any other person. Well if you had been aggrieved you could have done the same.”

Reporter: Do you plan to file any charges against anybody else considering that there’s major discourse happening on social media and you have been mocked.

Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs: “I do not file charges.”

Reporter: Make a complaint.

Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs:  “I will not discuss that because I have given all of those things to my attorney. My attorney is looking at those. He will advise me on the way forward. Many defamatory statements have been said and have been reproduced by many news outlets and many other people. My attorney is going to give me the advice and that is his hands.”