THE judge who presided over the trial when Cathy Hughes sued Vice President Jagdeo for libel over his statement that she was a low-life should put an end to people who abuse the courts by suing for libel when they have suffered no damage to their character.

As someone who has been a columnist for 39 years, I have had bitter experience with such people.

The thing about glasshouse people suing you is that you know you will win, but you have to take time to engage a lawyer and spend precious time in court that you cannot afford.

It is better to pay a lawyer than to rely on the generosity of your friends in the legal fraternity, because they may be too busy to concentrate on your case as they have to earn a living.

You cannot expect them to devote their time to your case when they are being paid to defend another client.

So what did the judge say? She announced that evidence of damage to character must be submitted. In Guyana, people simply sue, and the writ contends that they have suffered in the eyes of the public and have been humiliated as a consequence of the publication.

I now offer two situations where libel can be justified. If it is written that a man is a homosexual and he sues for character attack, he has a good chance of success if he can prove to the judge that, after the publication, his wife filed for divorce.

If his workplace retains him, if his wife remains with him and if his club retains his membership, then he has to prove to the court how damage has occurred.

The second example is that of a cricketer. In two days’ time, he has to represent his country. The media carried a report that he had a spat with a female bar attendant.

The country’s cricket board announced in a press release that he had been dropped because the board contended that it had to protect the image of the team.

Success in a libel action would be guaranteed if there was no such incident. The cricketer has evidence that he lost income and prestige because he was dropped.

A former PNC parliamentarian sued the Freddie Kissoon Show over a remark made by Charrandass Persaud. I was named as a respondent along with Persaud and the station owner.

The trial lasted one day, and not an ounce of evidence was presented on how Persaud’s words negatively affected Guyana’s perception of him.

That is simply wrong and cannot be defended. There must be a guideline for judges on how they arrive at damage to character in libel cases.

Two people in this entire world should not be allowed to sue for libel, and when they lose in court, the judge should award millions in costs.

A year ago, David Hinds threatened to sue me for describing him as a racist. What reputation does David have to protect, when he himself has destroyed it, and not in one social media programme but in dozens?

I note that, once that case was called, the judge would on the first day have been overwhelmed by video evidence of Hinds’s nasty propaganda, including his referring to a prominent woman in Guyanese society, Geeta Chandan, as a slave catcher.

This same David Hinds has, in more than a million ways, accused the government of racial discrimination.

The other person is Tacuma Ogunseye. He wrote a letter to the Chronicle demanding that it publishes the letter or else he would take action.

He was responding to something I had written about him. So, if the matter had gone to court, it would have excited the whole world, because the entire world would have wanted to see his evidence of where his character was damaged. Which character?

This is a man who was charged with violent advocacy. Here is what he said at a public meeting: “The first objective is to get the African team in a state of battle readiness…the Afro-Guyanese Police and soldiers would stand with Afro-Guyanese in resisting mainly Indo-Guyanese supporting the PPP/C…

“The reality is the army, the Police are majority African Guyanese, once we organise the people and once we begin to fight, we will ensure that our brothers and sisters in uniform will do the right thing. And if they do the right thing, this matter is over in days, not weeks.”

As recently as a few weeks ago, on a David Hinds podcast, he said that the African struggle will be successful only if they go the “bruk up” route. Which judge will entertain a libel trial in which Ogunseye will plead that his character has been damaged? I ask again: which character?

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.