Dear Editor,
I am forced to write this letter to you out of desperation, since I have been frustrated in my efforts to obtain legitimate representation for my just cause.
Since November 2011, I have been the victim of circumstances which amply illustrate that, even after 46 years of Independence, powerful persons in Guyana are still able and willing to take advantage of their status to trample on the rights of the ordinary citizen.
Since mid-November 2011, a senior member of the legal fraternity sent his attorney to me to inform me that he had purchased, through the grant of Prescriptive Rights, the property in which I resided, since August 1, 1984, and for which I had been responsible for the payment of a rental, the payment of general and water rates as well as undertaking any needed repairs.
Editor, the facts of the situation are that the original owner of the property, in whose name it continues until today, died on September 15, 1981 and he had bequeathed the property to his daughter in his will. She subsequently died in the USA on October 21, 2000. Since then, as indicated in the previous paragraph, I have been solely responsible for the upkeep of the property.
It was a complete shock to me to learn from the attorney of this eminent gentleman, for whom I have the utmost respect, that somehow, without consulting me or attempting to discuss the matter with me, he managed to obtain ownership through the grant by the court of Prescriptive Rights, and, as a consequence, I am being threatened with immediate eviction.
Editor, am I to understand that the powerful could be unhindered in their ability to manipulate the legal system to the detriment and destruction of lowly citizens such as myself? Is there no mechanism for redress and justice available to the ordinary citizen when confronted by such blatant and patent injustice?
I am appealing for help and guidance so that I could obtain justice and fair play.
Yours faithfully,
Rudolph Ashford
