Dear Editor,
My attention was drawn to the bold lead story on the front page of the Guyana Chronicle on Friday, 14th of December `Nandlall loses bid to stall theft-charge trial…as Chief Justice throws out application to stay proceedings’. It is simply a blatant untruth. These High Court proceedings came up on Friday for the first time before Chief Justice Roxane George.
I was present and I did not see any reporter in the precincts of the High Court.
These proceedings are twofold: the substantive proceedings, which challenges the legality of a particular ruling of the learned Magistrate in the criminal trial and an interlocutory application, which, seeks a stay of the Magistrate’s Court proceedings, until the hearing and determination of the substantive action.
On Friday, the Chief Justice indicated that since the criminal proceedings have been adjourned to the 25th of January, 2019, the application for the stay is not urgent. Her Honour further stated that at the appropriate time the Court will consider the application for the stay.
The learned Chief Justice then invited my lawyers to address the Court on certain legal issues, which the Court identified. The matter was then adjourned to the 28th of December, 2018, for the same to be done.
In short, no proceedings were “lost”; neither was anything “thrown out”. In fact, the application for the stay was not even considered.
There is no doubt that this news item in the Chronicle is politically driven.
Having regard to the myriads of challenges that this government is facing and the countless problems which the people of Guyana are enduring which the Administration has shown a demonstrable incapacity to address, I am indeed flattered that tarnishing my reputation is accorded such high priority by this Government, that it secures the coveted front-page lead in the State’s Newspapers.
My lawyers have been instructed to address this malicious distortion as they see fit.
Yours faithfully,
Anil Nandlall
