However he told the Commisson of Enquiry into the failed coup that the meetings with Bakr were with the consent of his leader at the time, Basdeo Panday, to get an idea of the group's political philosophy.
Humphrey and Panday along with Panday loyalists had left the Robinson government and had just formed the United National Congress (UNC) when the Muslimeen stormed Parliament and took several MPs hostage, including Humphrey and other UNC members.
Panday was absent as was Patrick Manning, the leader of the opposition at the time.
Humphrey said he was concerned about a "hit list" that the Muslimeen had distributed at Woodford Square containing the the names of people to be killed by the Muslimeen.
The former minister said at the time the Muslimeen was a growing political force and Panday asked him to meet with Bakr to gauge his political philosophy. He said Panday wanted to be sure about whether Bakr's philosophy included "a disposition to violence".
Humphrey said he first met with Bakr in 1985 at one of the Sou Sou Lands projects in Sangre Grande and they discussed issues of religion.
At the time the People's National Movement led by Prime Minister George Chambers was in office and Humphrey was a member of the opposition United Labour Front (ULF), led by Panday, who was leader of the opposition.
However he said the talks were only to get a sense of Bakr's political philosophy, not to have a merger between the ULF and the Jamaat al Muslimeen. He dismissed speculation that he might have been on the side of the insurrectionists.
Panday was one of the people who later encouraged merger talks with Robinson, Karl Hudson Phillips and Lloyd Best, which eventually led to the formation of the National Alliance for Reconstrction (NAR).
The unitary party went on to create political history in the country by defeating the PNM in the 1986 general election, ending the party's 30-year unbroken hold on power.
Panday's ULF was the only party with any Parliamentary representation prior to the formation of the NAR and was the likely candidate to lead the new party. However he decided to give the leadership to Robinson.
Following the 33-3 victory that left only three PNM MPs in Parliament, Robinson and Panday fell out, which led to the expulsion of Panday and some of his former ULF colleagues from the NAR and the formation of the UNC.
Humphrey also raised the possibility that the constitutional powers of the Prime Minister may have contributed to the uprising that began on July 27, 1990.
He referred to the findings of the Hugh Wooding Commission on Constitutional Reform in 1973 and noted some specific changes. "Unfortunately the way our Constitution is framed, the Prime Minister is not a virtual dictator, he is an actual dictator," Humphrey told commissioners.
Enquiry Chairman Sir David Simmons said it is an issue that should be examined further.
"I think that what can be gleaned by some of Mr. Humphrey's evidence is that the structure of governance, through the Constitution, vests too much power in the hands of the one man or woman, the Prime Minister," Sir David said.
"It would be out of our scope to go too far into investigating those matters but I think what he is saying is perhaps relevant to at least that aspect of our Terms of Reference, and to that extent, not irrelevant."
The Terms of Reference provide for recommendations arising out of its deliberations to be made and which are deemed as appropriate in relation to any historical, political or other factors that may have contributed to the attempted coup.
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