DEPUTY Solicitor-General (DSG), Prithima Kissoon, has been sent on 72 days administrative leave, pending the outcome of an investigation into the cases she has presided over. This is according to Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Basil Williams, who in addition to making that disclosure on Friday, disclosed that the Public Service Commission (PSC) has rejected the application made by Kissoon.
The DSG had filed a complaint to the PSC contending that the Attorney General had taken a non-cooperative approach towards her in his attempt to force her out of office.
She said although she was preparing legal documents for the Attorney General to approve in relation to pending matters, he had continuously withheld his signature.
“In court matters draft opinions/pleadings are presented to the AG, Mr Basil Williams, for approval, signature, correction or alteration and even though reminded regularly, this is not done or is done so belatedly and at the ninth hour that I have been embarrassed before the courts or had to resort to my legal acumen to ensure that the State is properly represented,” the DSG said in the letter of complaint submitted to the PSC.

Additionally, Kissoon sought approval from the PSC to have her deferred leave from 2016 until a solution is found, and permission to leave Guyana.
However, on Friday, the Attorney General told reporters that after her leave for the period December 20 to January 21, 2017 was not approved, Kissoon submitted medical claims to cover the same period.
“As a result, we were left stranded so to speak, because she didn’t assign certain cases to other lawyers, and in fact some cases came up and no one attended,” he noted.
In a statement last Sunday, the Attorney General called for disciplinary action to be taken against the Deputy Solicitor-General, contending that the Government had had enough of Kissoon, who according to him, openly supports the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
“Enough! Our Government could not continue to sustain the Deputy Solicitor- General Ms Prithima Kissoon’s unrelenting undermining of its cases,” the Attorney General had said.
He claimed that in every case involving the Opposition Leader, the PPP and former Attorney General Anil Nandlall, glaring errors were made by Kissoon when she was expected to represent the interest of the State.
“In cases where the President, Prime Minister and Attorney General were sued, Ms Kissoon deliberately disobeyed instructions by the Attorney General and Solicitor-General as to attacking the applications on lack of jurisdiction and have caused the matters to be protracted, helping Nandlall to save face,” Minister Williams said.