Allegation against President is a fabrication

Dear Editor,

My attention was drawn to a report in Kaieteur News dated December 4, relating to the “witness tampering” charge currently before Magistrate Geeta Chandan-Edmond, the contents of which have demonstrated the depths to which the advocacy of some attorneys-at-law has sunk. It is the more appalling, having regard to the congeries of misplaced assertions of an aspirant to elevated rank. The public needs to be assured that the allegation made by Nigel Hughes against President Jagdeo is absolutely false and an unmitigated fabrication, calculated to deceive them. Any delay in the hearing of the case is without legal precedent and ought not to be countenanced by any court, since the mere filing of a constitutional motion cannot, by itself, disentitle a magistrate from hearing a criminal charge.

It may not be without some significance that the Magistrate has retained the same Mr Nigel Hughes to represent her in the High Court in challenging her earlier suspension from duties as a magistrate. Any decent member of the public will readily agree that the Magistrate and Mr Hughes have but one option if our system of justice is to flourish and litigants are to have any trust and confidence in those who are appointed to administer it. It goes without saying that at all times a balance has to be struck between the right of a litigant to present his case and the duty of the court to ensure its process is not abused. Mr Hughes’ allegation, if the report is accurate, represents scatology of the worst kind and must never be replicated. Hughes owes the President an unreserved apology and magistrates ought to be guided by the oath they take upon appointment, ie, to act without fear or favour.

Yours faithfully,
Charles R Ramson, SC, MP
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs