Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, has been denied the stay he was hoping for of a $7.5 million judgment imposed against him for defaming former diplomat and board member of Guyana Power & Light (GPL), Kirk Hollingsworth.
According to a press statement from Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, who represents Hollingsworth, Justice of Appeal Rishi Persaud, on Wednesday refused Nadir’s application for a stay of execution of the judgment.
Forde said in his statement that the Judge in refusing the stay, concluded that there were no prospects of the appeal succeeding; while going on to find that on the face of the pleading before the trial court, “the defamatory statements were reckless and riddled with defamatory imputations.”
Forde has said that his client will now be proceeding to enforce the judgment.
In a ruling delivered in September of last year, High Court Judge Fidela Corbin-Lincoln awarded damages to Hollingsworth in the sum of $7.5 million after finding words spoken of him by Nadir on the Freedom Radio, to be defamatory.
Background
The case surrounded statements made by Nadir on November 12th, 2019, on Freedom Radio Inc and which were shared on the radio’s Facebook page concerning land that Hollingsworth acquired which imputed that he did so corruptly.
According to an assessment done by the court of Nadir’s lengthy statement, he stated that Hollingsworth had acquired over 3,199.92 acres of land and that he did so by manipulating the system for self-enrichment. It was also imputed that the land was a reward for Hollingsworth’s support and vote at an emergency meeting of the board of directors of GPL to remove then Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from office.
Fair comment
While not denying that they published the alleged defamatory words, the defendants claimed that the words published were not defamatory, that “they constitute fair comment,” and that they “rely on the defence of justification.” They also relied on the Official Gazette as it relates to the 3,199.92 acres of land in South Ruimveldt from which the information was extracted as well as a daily newspaper enjoying national circulation within Guyana which carried the news item regarding the same issue.
In reaching the judgment the court considered whether the defendants published the words complained of: the meaning of the words used; whether the defendants have justified meaning; whether the words constitute fair comment on a matter of public interest in all the circumstances; whether the words were published on an occasion of qualified privilege; and in the event that the defences fail, what relief should be granted the claimant.
Through his attorney, Hollingsworth had tendered a transcript of the publication alleged and neither Raymond Cummings, nor Nadir, the witnesses in the case denied the publication.
In his defence Nadir stated that he was certain that his statements made while presenting his “findings” were not defamatory, false or actuated by malice towards or in relations to the claimant.
Cummings had testified that Nadir was a regular host of a programme called ‘Free Talk’ and that he was aware that such a programme was aired on November 12th, 2019, and while he is aware of the statements being complained of, he was “certain that they were not defamatory false or actuated by malice towards or in relation to the claimant.”
However, in finding that the above defence failed, Justice Corbin-Lincoln stated that such a defence must set out the facts alleged to be true that the comments are based.
“The defence must identify the matters of public interest on which the comment is made,” the court said, adding that “unsurprisingly,” the evidence of Nadir and Cummings could not and did not take the defence of fair comment further.
In his evidence, Hollingsworth had indicated that he was a former diplomat having served in the British foreign service for over 25 years in the UK, the Middle East, the Caribbean and southern Africa. At the time he was a Director on the Board of GPL, a former executive director of the Georgetown Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and a member of the African Business Roundtable.
He presented that he provides consultancy services to international and domestic companies in a number of areas inclusive of the oil and gas sector, trade, and investments in Guyana.
Following the publication of defamatory statements, he said himself, wife, and family, were inundated with phone calls, texts, messages, Facebook messages, emails, and WhatsApp messages, concerning or related to the statements and the truthfulness and veracity of the claims made.
He also suffered and continue to suffer financial injury, constant grave distress, humiliation, embarrassment, indignity, pain and suffering. As proof of this he presented that on November 25th, 2019, days after the publication, he received a letter from one of his clients, Kaydel Oil and Gas Limited, terminating his consultancy with them. Then the following day he received another letter this time from Elantra Global Capital LLP terminating his consultancy contract with them due to his “implied involvement with the Government of Guyana in a potentially corrupt land acquisition transaction amounting to over 3000 acres of prime commercial land.
Hollingsworth emphasised that his reputation is crucial to his career and as a consequence of the publication he has been seriously injured in his character, credit, reputation, and profession, and has been brought into “scandal odium and contempt.”
Justice Corbin-Lincoln had pointed out that the defamatory publication is serious since it imputes corruption. She noted that the claimant’s evidence was that he suffered loss and damage as a result of the publication including the termination of two consultancy contracts.
The court accepted that the publication complained of, contributed to the termination of the claimant’s contract with Kaydel Oil & Gas Ltd.
