DIRECTOR of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Kirk Hollingsworth, who served as a diplomat for 25 years, has sued Kaieteur News, Freedom Radio, and Guyana Times for libel in excess of $300M.

Hollingsworth filed three separate legal proceedings against the entities through his attorneys Roysdale Forde, Olayne Joseph and James Bond.

In the case brought against Freedom Radio Inc. and Manzoor Nadir, Hollingsworth claimed for damages in excess of $50M for libel committed by the respondents on November 12, 2019 on Freedom Radio 91.1 FM (Demerara), 90.5 FM (Berbice) and 90.7 (Essequibo). He told the High Court that Freedom Radio published or caused to be published defamatory statements made by Nadir that he (Hollingsworth) had been awarded over 3000 acres of prime property at Ruimveldt as a result of seemingly corrupt and clandestine transaction.
Hollingsworth also claimed for damages in excess of $50M on the basis that the information was circulated on Freedom Radio’s online platform. He is also seeking a mandatory injunction compelling Freedom Radio and Nadir to remove permanently, the defamatory statements from the Internet, as well as from the radio site.

In defending his claim, Hollingsworth pointed out that he is not only a Director at GPL, but also a former diplomat and a consultant, providing consultancy services to international and domestic companies in a number of areas inclusive of the Oil and Gas Sector, Trade and Investments in Guyana. The High Court was presented with evidence in the form of quotes or transcripts from the radio programme which suggested that Hollingsworth had been awarded over 3000 acres of prime property at Ruimveldt as a result of a seemingly corrupt and clandestine transaction.

Forde, on behalf of his client, told the court that the natural and ordinary meaning of the sentiments expressed by Nadir would cause the reasonable listener to conclude that Hollingsworth acquired over 3000 square feet or 3,199.92 acres of land, and that the acquisition of the land from the government was an award or result of him manipulating the system for self-preservation and enrichment. It was also alleged that Hollingsworth was rewarded the plot of land for his participation at meetings of the Board of Directors at GPL.
Forde said listeners would also reasonably conclude that the acquisition of land was also as a reward for Hollingsworth’s support and vote at an emergency meeting of the Board of Directors at GPL to remove the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Rensford Homer, from office.
“…The effect of the aforesaid defamatory statements seems calculated to affect the claimant’s as a consultant with a view of lowering him in the estimation of right-thinking persons in society, render him the subject of disapproval and rejection by the citizens of Guyana and to negatively affect the claimant’s creditability, character and reputation,” Forde told the Court in the Statement of Claim.

He reported that on November 12, 2019, Hollingsworth and his family were inundated with phone calls, text messages, Facebook messages, emails and Whatsapp messages concerning or related to the defamatory statements and the truthfulness and or veracity of the claims made by Nadir.

“The claimant’s personal and professional reputation and standing has been irreparably and severely damaged,” Forde iterated while pointing out that on November 25, 2019, Hollingsworth’s client, Kaydel Oil and Gas Ltd., terminated his consultancy contract because of his alleged involvement in “illegal land grabbing dealings with the government.” The next day, Elantra Global Capital LLP also terminated its contract with Hollingsworth on a similar ground.

A similar lawsuit was filed against the Guyana Times Inc. and its Editor-in-Chief, Tusika Martin. In that statement of Claim, Hollingsworth, through his attorneys, claimed for damages in excess of $50M for libel committed by Martin and the Guyana Times on November 11, 2019 where they published or caused to be published, an article titled, “Over 3000 acres of prime land allocated to GPL Director,” in which Hollingsworth was portrayed as having been awarded over 3000 acres of prime property located on the East Bank of Demerara, as a result of a seemingly corrupt and clandestine transaction.
Another $50M is being claimed by Hollingsworth on the ground that the article was published on Guyana Time’s online platform. In this case he is also seeking a mandatory injunction compelling both Martin and the Guyana Times to permanently remove the defamatory article from the Guyana Times newspaper edition of the November 11, 2019, available at https://www.guyanatimesgy.com.

“Over 3000 acres of prime land, located on the East Bank of Demerara in an area known to be the location for the Ogle-to-Diamond bypass road, has been allocated to a single individual. The land, 3199 acres in total, is listed as parcel 728 from the East Bank of Demerara and was surveyed back in 2014 by the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC). A gazette notice dated October 14, 2019, indicates that it is now in the hands of Kirk Hollingsworth, a current Director on the Board of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and a former diplomat,” Guyana Times alleged in the article. Forde told the High Court that the article would cause an ordinary person to conclude that the acreage of the land awarded to the claimant, which measured 3,199 acres, was larger than the city of Georgetown – capital of Guyana, and the award was corrupt in nature. He detailed similar damages as was highlighted in the case brought against Freedom Radio.

The case, Hollingsworth v Adam Harris and the National Media and Publishing Company Ltd, Forde made similar claims on behalf of his client. Hollingsworth sued Harris – the Editor-in-Chief of the Kaieteur News and its publisher for damages in excess of $50M for libel committed against him on November 11, 2019 in the Kaieteur News. The newspaper published an article headlined “Govt. gives out land larger than G/town to a single individual,” in which it was contended that the GPL Director was portrayed as having been awarded over 3000 acres of prime property at Ruimveldt as a result of corrupt activities.
Harris and the publisher of Kaieteur News were sued for another $50M because the content of the article appeared on their online platform. In this lawsuit, Hollingsworth detailed similar damages and asked that the article be removed from the newspaper’s website.