Latest update January 20th, 2025 4:00 AM
President refuses to sanction AG
– says it is all up to the police
Even with irrefutable evidence that his Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall has made
President Donald Ramotar
remarks that do not harmonize with the Laws of Guyana, President Donald Ramotar is steadfast in his refusal to sanction the high-ranking official.
Speaking to reporters at the International Conference Centre after the opening ceremony of the National Toshaos’ Conference, Ramotar categorically stated that “the police have to take action, not me.”
Recently there have been threats of a plot to shut down Kaieteur News, with a number of publicized emails essentially confirming this. But just this week, Nandlall went a step further by detailing to a Kaieteur News reporter that there was an imminent threat to the lives of those working with the company and that the reason was that “powerful people” were becoming sensitive about what was being published in relation to their operations.
He warned the journalist that Kaieteur News is a dangerous place to work and said that he (the journalist) should “get out of there soon.”
The Attorney General, who frequently speaks of “upholding the laws of this dear land,” was recorded as saying that “…people got weapons, right? Is not newspaper they gonna use as a weapon, they got weapons, and when you continue attack people like that, and they have no way of responding, they gun just walk with their weapon into that same f**king Saffon Street office and wha comes suh do, and innocent… Peter gun gah pay fuh f**king Paul in deh one day, me ah tell you… innocent… me a tell you honestly, man to man, that will happen soon!”
But even in light of this, and subsequent calls for Nandlall to step down or to be fired, President Ramotar had no qualms
Attorney General, Anil Nandlall
in stating that he will take no action against Nandlall.
On Monday, the very day the recording was made public, the Alliance For Change, called for Nandlall’s resignation saying that the Minister has brought the Attorney General’s Office into disrepute.
When interviewed by reporters on Wednesday, President Ramotar completely ignored the contents of the recorded conversation and focused only on his view that it was illegal to record the Minister without his knowledge.
The President said that his Attorney General, a public official, was not speaking to the public nor did he intend for his words to go public. Ramotar kept repeating that “he was illegally taped,” and said “that is the first thing that we must deal with.”
Even as he continued to ignore that threats were contained in the conversation, Ramotar was adamant that the laws of the country must be respected in this case.
The government, hours after the tape went public, released a statement fully backing the Attorney General. No mention was made about possible sanctions, nor was the tone of the missive remotely apologetic for Nandlall’s threats.
The administration in fact chided Kaieteur News, hinting that the newspaper is an enemy of the state. The newspaper was accused of manipulating and distorting the tape.
In the wake of the unfolding saga, both parliamentary opposition parties have condemned the actions of the Attorney General saying that his spoken words reflect badly on the government.
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