Dear Editor
IN the absence of any notion, or public declaration emanating from the Minister of Legal Affairs/Attorney General, Hon. Basil Williams, M.P. with the concurrence of the Cabinet, whereby, after a period of 17 months of governance by the APNU & AFC Coalition, “the dispensation of justice on behalf of the downtrodden and powerless, is unlikely to see the light in twilight’s last gleaming when the sun is about to set.” Surely, I do hope for the remainder of the government’s term in office, modernising draconian laws inherited from the colonialists becomes a reality. With no legal background, can it be logical that after 50 years of independence, a significant amount of West Indian-trained lawyers albeit an integrated Caribbean Education System (C.X.C) replacing the British, their laws are still applicable? Suffice, it to say the King James Version of the Bible, which our foreparents as slaves when caught with it suffered cruelty, some even with their life!  What would the outcome be if an individual, who is an Orthodox Christian and don’t subscribe to the King James Version, but would swear upon the Aquarian, Essene Gospel or the Maccabees Version? By the way, is the Maccabees Version still illegal in Guyana? Meanwhile, our nation’s Hindu and Muslim brothers and sisters with the judicial context are not discriminated against. Since their respective religions/way of life is compatible to a cultural awareness.
On 25.10.16 shortly after 11:00 hrs, I paid a visit to the Supreme Court Registry, in pursuit of being updated on a Divorce matter. Whereas on 09.05.16 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, prior to entering the Church, a Court Marshal, after a brief interaction presented a Petition, in the absence of the Petitioner, primarily for identification purposes. Additionally, and much to my dismay of his unprofessionalism, after entering the Cathedral, the Marshal subsequently came in. Beckoning him outside not to disrupt the solemnity of the occasion, he told me that I had to sign. Apart from his high level of incompetence and ineptitude, the comedy of errors continued unabatedly with an address, which never existed in the history of Georgetown, being indicated as my last known address. Is this legal with a judicial document emanating from the Supreme Court of the land? Would the former colonisers allow this? Definitely no! To crown it off, the divorce was granted on 26. 08. 16 before the Honourabe Chief Justice Madam Yonette Cummings-Edwards.
Suffice it to say, that I had never recalled seeing a publication of the petition in the Saturday edition of the Stabroek News Classified Ads. Editor, neither was I ever summoned to a hearing on the matter, despite being given all assurances by an employee of the Court Registry, upon the last of my five visits previously which was early in August. “We’ll contact you when we’re ready”. Surely, contact could have been made via email/facebook or public notification which is the norm. It must be noted that as the Respondent, I wasn’t against the divorce, but rather the conceptualization of “Malicious Desertion” against “Irreconcilable Differences” as my term of reference. What of my personal property, including a passport that is the property of the Government of Guyana, which is being unreasonably withheld, along with the acquisition of household effects jointly? Can it be construed that after 50 years of independence, the dispensation of Justice prevails as the entrapment of a “Kangaroo Court”? As a consequence of my Constitutional, Democratic and Fundamental Rights being breached, a lawsuit will be filed in this regard, in addition to another against the Petitioner for Slander and Defamation of Character that resulted in the loss of income by way of employment, contractually. This was also outlined in my documentation as the Respondent to the Registrar of the Supreme Court, within the stipulated time-frame of 10 working days.
Regards
Lester Sealey