12 minute read
2nd
NEWS7 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM Lawyers up pressure to have 2nd election petition thrown out
…David Granger cannot contend he is not a party – lawyers
cepted that he is a properly ing. He also cited the ruling right away that there is an named respondent. That is of Mohan Raj v Surendra error and they would correct what the Section gives him Kumar Taparia & Ors, 1969, it and within a very short pethe power to do,” Nandlall in noting that necessary par- riod of time affidavits would argued. ties cannot be excluded from have been filed correcting “Any of the named re- the case. the issue of service.” spondents, including (fourth “But it was not until we named respondent) Bharrat No jurisdiction filed an application asking Jagdeo or anyone else, Nandlall also noted that the petition be dismissed have an option in the law once defective service has and another 12 days elapsed to choose not to oppose the been established, the court before an affidavit was filed petition. And Mr Granger has no jurisdiction to hear seeking to correct the date of has exercised that option. that petition. The point was service,” Mendes argued beMr Granger cannot contend reinforced by Mendes, who fore the court. that he is not a proper party in the petition and then use a mechanism in the Act argued that Granger is a proper party, since the petition concerns him and the Oral arguments were also heard from Attorneysat-Law Kashir Khan and Former President and representative of the APNU/ AFC list David Granger From left: T&T Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes and Attorney General Anil Nandlall that is directed to proper respondents. He cannot have it both ways, your honour.” party he leads and would lead to their loss of 31 seats in the National Assembly. Senior Counsel Basil Williams. Khan reiterated that defective service of a nogarding the timing of the service of the petition during the previous case manageBy Jarryl Bryan Validity of Elections Act and In addition, Nandlall He also dived into why the tice would render the entire ment hearing. In fact, she gave notice that he would noted that for a party with petition is defective. petition null and void. At had pointed out that service Attorney General Anil Nandlall and Trinidad Senior not be contesting the petition. In his oral submissions to the court on Monday, so much at stake in the case to absent himself would go against the very principles According to Mendes, the affidavit of service has the wrong date and the explanathe end of their arguments, the Chief Justice adjourned the case until December 1, of the petition on the second named respondent in the matters – APNU/AFC’s Counsel Douglas Mendes Nandlall argued that by us- of natural justice. According tion does not add up. He not- at 09:30h, for the continua- leader David Granger – was on Monday upped the pres- ing this Act, Granger him- to Nandlall, there are mul- ed that service within time tion of oral arguments from “out of time”. sure for the second elec- self has acknowledged that tiple legal precedents for is yet to be proven and as Senior Counsel Roysdale She had pointed out tion petition filed by Monica he is a properly named par- this. Indeed, Nandlall cited such, the petition should be Forde and Mayo Robertson. that according to the rules, Thomas and Brennan Nurse ty in the case. Sections of the law and sev- dismissed. Nandlall had filed an ap- the petition must be served to be thrown out by the High Section 27 (2) of the eral legal precedents in his “Your honour, you raised plication since November within five days of filing on Court on the basis of its de- Validity of Elections Act submissions. the question of service on 10, requesting the dismiss- the respondents, but the fective service. states “A respondent who He cited Section 4(2) the 22nd of October. It al of the second election pe- court records show that the
Nandlall and Mendes are has given the prescribed no- of the National Assembly should have been apparent tition on the grounds that it petitions were served until seeking to have this petition tice that he does not intend (Validity of Elections Act), to everyone why you were was served in breach of the September 25, 2020, when thrown out by acting Chief to oppose the petition or for noting that it mandates the raising it, because it was out requirements under Section they were filed on September Justice Roxane George, since whom any person has been representative of the list of of time. One would have ex- 2 of the National Assembly 15. The coalition’s side has, it was not served on former substituted shall not be al- candidates at the elections pected that if an error was Validity of Elections Act. however, denied that service President David Granger, lowed to appear or act as a to be named as a respon- made in the affidavit, either Justice George herself of the petition breached the the second named respon- party against the petition in dent, once their interest con- you would have been told had also raised concerns re- rules. (G3) dent in the petition, within any proceedings thereon.” flicts with contentions in the the prescribed time set out in the National Assembly “A respondent, your honour, must mean a properly petition. Nandlall also cited the Guyana’s legal, statutory framework... FROM PAGE 3 (Validity of Elections) Act. Last week, Granger’s legal team made efforts to extricate him from the case by using Section 27 of the named respondent. So, by filing that notice to say that he is not opposing that petition, Mr Granger has implicitly or rather, expressly accase of Barnwell v the Attorney General (1993), in laying out the necessity of all representatives of the list of candidates appear“So you have a hybrid arbitration system - one that is integrated and forms part of the judicial process and one that is wholly indepenwe put the requisite mechanisms in place and the statutory framework in place that is modern and responsive as those in the destinations chooil and gas companies – there are arbitration clauses and the AG related that once the clause is included, it means that the matter will have to Lindener jailed, fined for dent of the judicial process. The contracts now, they say that if there is a dispute besen by these contracts,” the AG explained. Nandlall said that arbigo to arbitration and then delay the dispute through the process. harbouring wanted man tween the parties including the Government of Guyana, they have to go to Brussels tration is one of the means of alternative procedures to the Judiciary and that his office He reminded that Guyana’s arbitration structure is over 5 decades old,
Aor London or New York or is also working on a new dis- which is clearly archaic and South Amelia’s Ward, er were caught by Police Texas to resolve these dis- pensation to deal with medi- cannot meet the demands of Linden, Region 10 at Lover's Lane, Amelia's putes. We can resolve them ation. Now, in every contract new and dynamic industries. (Upper Demerara- Ward, on April 30. right here by arbitration once – particularly those with the (G2) Berbice) man was on Monday Ranks at the time arjailed and fined for harbour- rested the older Estwick, ing a wanted person. whom a wanted bulletin had
Lennox O’neil Estwick been issued for since 2019. appeared before Magistrate Reports are Police, acting on Wanda Fortune at the intelligence, swooped down Linden Magistrate’s Court on the house at Lover's Lane where he was found guilty of at about 00:45h on April 30 harbouring his older broth- and nabbed the duo. er, Lennox Leon Estwick, The younger Estwick who was wanted by Police. was fined $50,000 along
The 23-year-old man with a year’s imprisonment along with his fugitive broth- Jailed: Lennox O’neil Estwick for the crime. (G13)
8NEWS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM Miner gets 12 months, fined $1.3M for ganja possession
Jailed: Neal Griffith
Twenty-nine-year-old Neal Griffith, of Middle Street, McDoom, Greater Georgetown, was on Monday slapped with a 12-month jail term and fined $1.365 million for ganja trafficking. Griffith made a virtual appearance at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court, where he pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him.
Police stated that on November 27, 2020 at Sherima Crossing, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Griffith had in his possession 913 grams of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.
Guyana Times understands that on the day in question, Police ranks at the crossing conducted a search on a truck during which two bulky parcels were found in a bag belonging to the accused. During inspection, a quantity of leaves, seeds, and stems were unearthed.
Griffith claimed owner- ship of the bag and its contents, and as such, he was arrested. The illegal substance was weighed in his presence.
Over the past two weeks, several persons were arrested at the Itaballi Crossing with cannabis. On Saturday last, Police conducted a search on a truck during which a black plastic bag was found; when opened, it contained three parcels and 55 small ziplock bags filled with cannabis. This has led to the arrest of a 22-year-old miner of Block 22 Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) after he claimed ownership of the 545 grams of weed.
Prior to that bust, a salesman was arrested after 791 grams of cannabis was found in his bag at the Police checkpoint at Itaballi.
It was reported that on November 20, Police ranks intercepted a truck and conducted a search on same. During the operation, the ranks conducted searched a camouflage haversack belonging to the salesman and found a multi-coloured hammock which had two parcels containing the cannabis and a quantity of methamphetamines.
The salesman was told of the offence and cautioned. He then admitted ownership of the parcels and was subsequently arrested and charged.
223-7230-1 (Ext 55)
The new twist...
...in the land scam
ADickensian henpecked husband, Mr Bumble, was being cross-examined in court on a matter, which he asserted had been committed by his wife. The lawyer, however, insisted that he was also responsible, “for the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction”. Looking around to ensure his wife wasn’t within earshot, the brow-beaten man replied, “If the law supposes that, the law is an ass”!
The point, of course, is that sometimes, reality doesn’t conform to the premises on which the law was made. And not surprisingly, those appointed in the Courts to ensure that justice be done will have to interpret the law to ensure it’s not “an ass”. As even the Romans insisted, “F?at j?stitia ruat cælum “ – meaning “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.” Surely, we in Guyana should expect our Courts to be held to that standard in the 21st century.
This thought flashed into your Eyewitness’s mind (limited, as it might be!) when he read of the latest legal strategies deployed by one member of the Bar in defence of this Heath-London fella who doled out lands to PNC cronies like they were “sweeties”. This lawyer, not coincidentally, was the one who threw that life raft to the PNC after Granger, Nagamootoo and Volda Lawrence had accepted they should demit office after the passage of the NCM. He cited some non-relevant dicta from some obscure jurisdiction to insist that 33 wasn’t the majority of 65 – even though the PNC was the government by just such a majority!!
The Courts (CCJ) ultimately ruled in the interest of justice that the lawyer and his argument had more holes than a colander! And as they say, the rest is history – but what a labyrinthine history!! And so we return to the counsel’s latest attempt to throw a monkey wrench into the land scam. The first one was to assert that the sincedeceased CEO of NICIL – who obviously can’t defend himself – had concocted a “Board Memo”, in the absence of a Board Quorum, to remove the need for NICIL to give permission before its lessees could sublease lands.
When that ruse was exposed, the crafty fella jumped on this second limb: that “government lands” aren’t all subjected to the same laws. Some are “transported” which he claims don’t need permission for subleasing, as opposed to those that have “titles”, which do! The lands that were passed on to James Bond by Heath-London didn’t need permission, he insists!!
As with 33 isn’t the majority of 65!! The point, however, is what was the purpose behind the law?
And not being an ass, it would certainly not permit this absurdity!
...on the GPL underwater cable
On these continued GPL blackouts, your Eyewitness feels compelled to paraphrase Henry II’s plaintive cry when he felt he was being hounded beyond reason by Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury: “Will no one rid me of this turbulent supplier of electricity?” How much can any one man take? Aren’t sixty years of blackouts enough? Especially now that one is now in the age of COVID-19, which is depressing enough!
Last June, the underwater cable connecting GPL’s Vreed-en-Hoop generating sets to the rest of the grid was snapped by some passing ship. This resulted in extensive blackouts when the damage was finally fixed. At the time we were assured that there’d be no recurrence since the cable would be buried FIFTEEN FEET BELOW THE RIVER BED by the company that had laid it in the first place – China’s CMC.
But lo and behold, it was snapped again by a ship’s anchor. This can only mean CMC didn’t do its job.
Penalties must be imposed – for Guyanese pain and suffering.
...in Granger’s petition
Basil Williams, Granger’s lawyer, confirmed that by withdrawing as a petitioner. his client only wants not to present any evidence. Including those SoPs he insisted show he won the elections!
Yet he wants to be declared President!
