PUBLISHER of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall, has been asked to satisfactorily compensate Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, SC, for a “libellous statement” published in the newspaper recently, or face legal action.
Lall was written to by Williams’ SC attorneys, Hewley Griffith and Lawrence Harris last Friday.

The matter has to do with recent utterances in a courtroom, between Williams SC and High Court Judge, Justice Franklin Holder, in which the newspaper accused the AG of issuing “threats” to the judge in its Friday, March 24, 2017 publication.

The article appeared under the headline: “AG threatens High Court Judge”.

The newspaper reported that Williams SC, in addressing the judge, blurted out loudly in the courtroom that, “the last magistrate who did that to me was later found dead”.

These comments were taken directly from the Facebook page of former AG Anil Nandlall, who was the first to write about the matter the evening it reportedly transpired.

The AG has since warned that legal action will also be taken against Nandlall and the Guyana Times newspaper, which published similar content.

Williams’ attorneys in their letter to Lall said that the words used in the article are clear imputation and reference that the AG engaged in criminal activity and conduct and that he is a person without character and integrity and is unfit to hold public office.

Williams is also a Member of Parliament and Chairman of the People National Congress, the largest party in the APNU+AFC coalition.

The lawyers notified Lall that as a result of this libellous statement, their client has suffered “great hurt, shame and humiliation” and has been held up to public odium and ridicule.

In the circumstance, the attorneys made an offer for the publisher to compensate the AG by paying for damages to be donated to a named charity and for a public apology to be made in the newspaper.
“…unless you do pay damages to a named charity of our client’s choice for the aforesaid libel and issue an unqualified apology prominently displayed in your newspaper, we shall have no alternative but to institute legal proceedings against you without further notice, in order to vindicate the good name of our client,” Lall was warned.

The publisher has seven days to respond to these requests, failure of which will result in legal actions being brought against him.

Meanwhile, the AG has since committed to resolving the issue with Justice Holder, who has asked for an apology from Williams.

In a letter to acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yvonne Cummings-Edwards, Justice Holder said he left the bench of the courtroom on Thursday March 23, 2017 because of a statement allegedly made by Williams, which is: “I could say what I want to say and however I want to say it, I have always been like that.” The judge said he found the statement to be egregious.

“Immediately after hearing these words, I rose from the bench and went into my chambers. I did not adjourn the matter, nor did I give any instructions to the parties,” Justice Holder mentioned in his letter of complaint.

Justice Holder said he felt disrespected by Williams, and is not prepared to listen to him (Williams) as an attorney in any court unless an apology is made.