Chairman of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) board Lennox Craig was yesterday sent a lawyer’s letter warning him to desist from repeating “false” allegations made by an illegal operator against two Directors of the board and seeking damages from him.
Craig’s repeating of statements made by Essequibo broadcaster Kenwin Charles against the two directors: Anthony Vieira and Vic Insanally has highlighted division and tension on the Authority’s board.
“We call upon you to desist from publicly repeating these allegations and to apologize to our clients for the injury caused to them by the publications,” attorneys for Vieira and Insanally, Edward Luckhoo and Pratesh Satram, say in the letter to Craig.
“Our clients are entitled to damages for the defamation and reputational injury caused as a direct result of your conduct. Our clients have been painted as corrupt and dishonourable. We have been instructed to institute legal proceedings against you, without further notice, if there is no agreement on the quantum of compensation payable to our clients,” the letter, seen by Stabroek News, states.
When contacted yesterday on the lawyer’s letter, Craig informed that the missive was delivered to the GNBA office and that he was not able to uplift it. As a result, he was not aware of its contents.
The legal avenue taken by Vieira and Insanally follows Craig’s announcement, by a press release on Wednesday, that the GNBA was investigating allegations made against Insanally and Vieira by Charles.
“Following the rounds of Meetings, one Cable Broadcaster, Mr. Kenwin Charles of Northwest TV Inc. asked to meet with me to highlight several concerns. At that meeting he made a complaint essentially accusing Mr. Anthony Vieira and Mr. Victor Insanally of trying to improperly force him out of doing business on the Essequibo Coast where he had made significant capital investments,” Criag had said.
“At the said meeting Mr. Charles indicated that he met with the Prime Minister (Moses Nagamootoo) where a similar complaint was lodged. I gave him every assurance that his matter will be given urgent consideration and that I will address this matter with the Board as soon as he makes a formal written complaint,” he added.
But yesterday the attorneys told Craig that his repeating of Charles’ allegations caused their clients much personal and public distress.
“We are instructed that on or about the 22nd day of September, 2016 through a public statement which was widely circulated in the media you intentionally and maliciously made reference therein to our clients by name thereby causing members of the public to connect them with defamatory statements of and about them which were made by an unlicensed broadcaster, Kenwin Charles.
“The allegations that you have repeated in your statement and that you have caused to be widely publicized are false. As you are aware, Mr. Charles was an unlicensed operator.
The board had taken a decision that the Committee comprising of our clients will meet with such operators and seek to regularize their operations. The allegations were not brought to the attention of our clients for response at the last meeting of the Board or at all,” the letter asserts.
“We are instructed that your repetition of the allegations made by Mr. Charles was malicious and calculated to bring our clients into public hatred, contempt and ridicule. Your motive was to discredit our clients as directors of the GNBA and to engineer their removal as directors thereof. None of the following matters or factors were considered by you when you repeated those false and highly damaging allegations,” the letter adds.
The letter says that not only are the allegations very serious but that they also imputed that Vieira and Insanally had been guilty of corruption in public office.
Another point made to Craig was that although he knew about the allegations by Charles for more than 10 days, no opportunity was given to the two board members to respond to the allegations nor was any reasonable care taken to give a full and fair view of their position.
It restated Vieira’s stance that allegations are being made by a person who was engaged in illegal activity and that it was the lawful duty of the GNBA to prohibit such conduct and impose lawful punishment where necessary and that the matter was not even discussed at the board level when the Secretary of the Board was present at the meeting with Charles.
“No steps were taken by you to verify the allegations. Ms. (Violet) Boyal, the Board Secretary and then acting Chief Executive Officer, was also present at the meeting with Mr. Charles. She is in a position to verify the truth of the allegations made by Mr. Charles. The minutes of the meeting and the letter dispatched to Mr. Charles after the meeting clearly set the nature of the discussion and all proposals made for the regularization of the operations of Mr. Charles,” the letter states.
Craig was also reminded that he had “no authority and it is indeed improper” for him “to investigate and pronounce on the truth and accuracy of the allegations made by Mr. Charles.”
