Is Mr. Jagdeo’s day of reckoning coming soon?

Jun 22, 2015 Editorial

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The nation waits with baited breath as former President Bharrat Jagdeo and his phalanx of lawyers trek to the Whim Magistrates’ Court today to answer charges of alleged racism.
All eyes will be on the young and perhaps the most beautiful Magistrate, Charlyn Artiga, who gained prominence when she threatened to issue an arrest warrant for Mr. Jagdeo, who failed to attend court. It was a very bold decision by Ms. Artiga to discipline Mr. Jagdeo who had always felt that he was above the law.
A case in point was in 2010 when Mr. Jagdeo sued Kaieteur News and Columnist Freddie Kissoon for $10 million but refused to go to court on his own behalf. And strangely enough, the Judge did nothing, which suggests that he was fearful of Mr. Jagdeo but at the same time, enabled him to disrespect the justice system.
Whether or not Mr. Jagdeo will be found guilty is neither here nor there, but the most important issue is that as a private citizen, he had to be rebuked for his disrespect of the country’s jurisprudence.
It should be made clear that if the PPP was still in office, Magistrate Artiga would have been fired just as how the PPP fired Magistrate Geeta Edmonds who was about to sentence the son of the former Prime Minister, Sam Hinds.
Mr. Jagdeo’s actions have been a disgrace to the nation. By disrespecting the Court, he has not only embarrassed himself but he has also spoofed his followers. He has descended to more of a farce and the sad story is:
Where will it all end? The justice system which he had ignored for years has finally put its grip on him. Many of his colleagues at Freedom House have shed crocodile tears while others were bursting with uncontrolled laughter at his buffoonery.
They are amazed as to why he had believed that he could have ignored the court without consequences. He has caused his own legal problems and therefore must accept the penalties. As the saying goes, “if you do the crime, you must do the time.”
Mr. Jagdeo’s legal woes began when Mr. Christopher Ram, a Charted Accountant claimed that he had made racist comments on March 8, 2015 at Babu Jaan during the ceremony to honour Dr. Jagan. According to Mr. Ram, Mr. Jagdeo’s utterances could have resulted in racial or ethnic unrest or hatred among the people and as a result, he filed criminal charges against him.
This is a first for Guyana that a private citizen has filed criminal charges against a former President for allegedly using racial remarks. At first, Mr. Jagdeo did not take the charges seriously and did not attend court when the case was called in late March. But the PPP was in power and he felt that he could do anything and get away with it.That changed on May 11 when the PPP was defeated.
If convicted, the case could drag on for a long time, with Mr. Jagdeo likely to appeal the verdict all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice, which serves as the highest court of appeals on civil and criminal matters. It will cost him a pretty good sum of money which he has in abundance.
But no amount of money can take away the embarrassment he has caused himself and the damage to his reputation. His outrageous pension of over $3 million dollars per month has already impaired his character. No other Head of State in the Caribbean is entitled to such a huge pension. So, why Guyana? The answer is Mr. Jagdeo believes that he is entitled to use the country’s resources how he wants because he is invincible.
Appointed as President of Guyana in 1999 and put in charge of the country. Despite all the warnings to Mrs. Jagan that she was making a terrible mistake, she went ahead and appointed him. Since then, he has embarrassed the people and the country through what has since come to pass.
He will forever be remembered as the former President who has allowed gross mismanagement, massive crime and most of all, rampant corruption, to take hold of the country. Before he came to power, Guyana was known for the massacre at Jonestown; today, it is branded as one of the most corrupt countries in the Caribbean and beyond.
As if Mr. Jagdeo did not have enough on his plate already, his legal problems were compounded by political invectives by the former President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and PPP delegate Mr. Clinton Urling, who publicly called on him step aside and allow the PPP to become credible and trustworthy again. He blamed the PPP defeat on Mr. Jagdeo’s vulgar, abusive and character assassination speeches during the campaign.
This is a clear indication that Mr. Jagdeo is being strangled by his own demons and is drowning in his own vengeance. Will Monday June 22 be the day of reckoning for him? The nation awaits the answer.

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