High Court Judge Justice Fidela Corbin yesterday quashed the appointment of Stephen Lewis as Guyana’s Cricket Ombudsman.
“This is a significant milestone for the better administration of cricket in Guyana,” attorney Arudranauth Gossai told Stabroek Sport following the ruling at the Georgetown High Court.
Attorney Gossai, who represents the Berbice Cricket Board, hailed the ruling as a triumph for those concerned cricket stakeholders who have long called for a swift resolution to the administrative cricket impasse locally.
“It means that the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) cannot hold an election until the appointment in a proper and fair manner of a Cricket Ombudsman,” Gossai emphasised.
Lewis was initially appointed as the Cricket Ombudsman in May 2018 by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) but his appointment was challenged in the High Court by the Berbice Cricket Board.
However, Lewis, an attorney by profession, was reappointed to the post by Minister with responsibility for Sports, Dr George Norton in March 2019 under section 17 of the Act.
Lewis’ bias was called into question since it was established that he works with the same law firm which represents a fraction of cricket stakeholders who are involved in a number of ongoing court matters.
Earlier in the year, Justice Fidela Corbin granted an interim injunction barring Lewis from executing his duties following reports of an election by the Guyana Cricket Board.
The application was filed in the High Court in April 2019 by Gossai who was later forced to approach the High Court with a supplementary affidavit in Berbice after the Cricket Ombudsman issued a notice in one of the local newspapers on January 1, 2020, that he will be performing his duties.
Now that all avenues have been legally exhausted in the Cricket Administration Act, Gossai advised that “the Minister of Sports and the President of the Cricket West Indies would now have to appoint a new Ombudsman.
“But at the moment the Act has been suspended by the Court of Appeal by consent between the Attorney General and Messrs Sanasie and Kalladeen.”
Gossai has since filed submissions to quash that consent order and is awaiting the decision of the Court of Appeal.
