Dear Editor,
The sacking of Magistrate Omeyana Hamilton sends an unfortunate message to young professionals in Guyana. Ms Hamilton demonstrated that she was prepared to travel the length and breadth of Guyana to perform her duties, but she had explained that she suffers from severe headaches and back spasm if she travels in a speedboat.
I happen to have been in the same law class with Ms Hamilton and recognized very early that she was going to be one of Guyana’s leading legal professionals. I am, therefore, very saddened that her blossoming career might be injured. In addition, in a judicial system which is burdened with a backlog of cases and a shortage of magistrates the decision to terminate her services will not help. Could not a lighter penalty have been instituted against her? This appears to have been a minor matter, so did it need to attract such a serious consequence?
I call on the Minister of Culture Youth and Sport, the Guyana Bar Association, opposition parties, civil society, youth organizations, the religious community and its leaders, the Media Association, the University of Guyana Law Society, the University of Guyana Student Society, the Guyana Trades Union Congress, all professional bodies, the Women Lawyers Association, all women’s organizations and every other right-thinking organization to call for the swift reinstatement of Ms Hamilton.
Yours faithfully,
Lurlene Nestor
