–with prospect of ‘fugitive offender’ becoming Opposition Leader, Attorney-General laments
ATTORNEY-GENERAL and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall SC, has sounded alarm over what he says is an extraordinary and troubling first for the English-speaking Commonwealth—the prospect of a “fugitive offender” being elevated to the post of Guyana’s Leader of the Opposition.
Speaking on his weekly Facebook programme, Issues in the News, Nandlall said the development—once Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir convenes the necessary meeting—marks the first time in the English-speaking Caribbean that a fugitive will hold the post.
He added that it is also “possibly the first time in the Commonwealth” that an individual facing international criminal proceedings will hold one of the country’s highest constitutional offices.
We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) leader, Azruddin Mohamed, who is also a Member of Parliament, is sanctioned by the United States and is wanted in that jurisdiction on alleged offences, including money laundering and mail fraud.
“I saw many persons making comments about the Leader of the Opposition not being appointed as yet,” he said, noting that the responsibility for convening the election lies solely with the Speaker.
Nandlall said: “Well, you know that it’s common ground that the responsibility to convene the meeting where that election is to be done is that of the Speaker.”
According to the Attorney-General, the current pause is procedural and expected.
“It’s public knowledge that the Speaker is out of the country and it was indicated that the matter will be addressed when the speaker returns,” he said.
He acknowledged that “some are expressing concerns about the delay and the WIN party itself and its members are concerned and have expressed concerns about the delay.”
But while criticism has focused sharply on timing, Nandlall argued that far more critical issues are being ignored.
“There is no doubt that the Leader of the Opposition will be appointed or rather elected,” he said.
Nandlall added: “But I am not seeing the same type of concerns being expressed about Guyana having a Leader of the Opposition who is a fugitive offender, who is the subject of extradition proceedings and who is indicted on serious charges of international crimes, such as money laundering and mail fraud.”
He stressed that democratic societies must accommodate scrutiny and dissent, noting: “While one may express the view that there is a delay, we live in a democratic society, and those who feel aggrieved by what they perceive as a delay are free to express that concern.”
However, as Attorney-General, he said his greater concern is the silence surrounding the implications of Mohamed assuming such high office.
GREATER CONCERN
“I believe the greater concern is… the absence of equal lamentation about having, in the Parliament of Guyana for the first time—and possibly the English-speaking Commonwealth for the first time—a fugitive offender,” he said, adding that he “expect[s] the same type of lamentations to be expressed, but it is conspicuously absent.”
Nandlall said he was speaking “on matters of law and matters of constitutionality and matters relating to the integrity of our constitutional institutions,” insisting that the presence of an internationally wanted individual in the legislature should be a national conversation of urgent priority.
“I want to say again that law-abiding citizens, decent-minded Guyanese, and those who are concerned about the integrity of our constitutional institutions of governance, such as the high institution of the Parliament of our country, should be concerned that there is not only sitting in that Parliament but holding the post of opposition a fugitive offender,” he said.
He argued that such a development carries potential long-term consequences for Guyana’s standing.
“The stain and the international stigma that will attach to our parliamentary process, to the institutions of Guyana, by a fugitive offender not only sitting there but holding the post of Opposition Leader, is far graver and will cost us permanent damage,” he warned.
“And that issue, I think, ought to feature with greater prominence in our public debates and pronouncements.”
The Attorney-General anticipated backlash for his comments, stating that “the 50,000 fake profilers will be unleashed upon me shortly… and all manner of insults and abuse I will be subjected to.”
But he insisted that he would not be deterred, noting: “If that is what it takes to speak on what is right and what is righteous, then so be it.”
He said many are reluctant to address the matter publicly, “because they are afraid of the onslaught of ridicule to which they will be subject by the 50,000 fake profilers, who will come on this same platform… cussing me nonstop.”
Still, Nandlall said the government remains firm in ensuring legal procedures run their course.
“What I can assure you is that the legal process is taking its course and the law is being respected,” he asserted, adding, “I, as Attorney-General, must be free to express the concerns of the government… and there is not a higher institution than the Parliament of our country.”
