Jagdeo withdraws libel suit against Freddie Kissoon, KNews

Jan 05, 2020 News

Former President Bharrat Jadgeo has withdrawn the $10M libel suit against Kaieteur News and its columnist, Freddie Kissoon, in which he claimed a newspaper article, portrayed him and his government as racist.

ex President Bharrat Jagdeo

The application to withdraw the suit was filed by former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall. But this was after lawyers representing Freddie Kissoon found that there were conditions operating within the government that suggested that Afro-Guyanese were being discriminated.
The case which dragged on in the courts for nine years contended that the article titled “King Kong sent his goons to disrupt the conference” contained “false and manufactured allegations” which it said were “libellous” and also “malicious, irresponsible and inflammatory, calculated and designed to excite racial hostilities amongst the people of Guyana.”

Kaieteur News Columnist Freddie Kissoon

Further, the lawsuit contended that the June 28, 2010 article was intended to “cause a racial rift between the people of Guyana and their democratically elected government.”
The former President claimed that the article suggests that he is a racist and that “by extension, the State and Government of Guyana, practised racism as an ideology, dogma, philosophy and policy…”
The then Head -of- State said that he understood the article to mean he and by extension, “the State and Government of Guyana, discriminate against Afro-Guyanese on the basis of their race and ethnicity.”
Additionally, Jagdeo said that Kissoon inferred that the State and Government of Guyana, has an institutionalised policy to degrade, de-humanise and pulverise Guyanese of African descent.
“…that I, and, by extension, the State and Government of Guyana, routinely act in contravention of Article 149 of the Constitution which guarantees to all citizens of this country protection from racial discrimination as a fundamental right and freedom…”
But Kissoon whose legal team was led by Nigel Hughes pointed to his thesis research titled, “Ethnic Power and Ideological Racism- Comparing Presidents in Guyana”. Under examination in the witness stand by Hughes, he presented it at the Guyana History Institute in June 2010.
Kissoon told the court that he has seen the features of racial state discrimination, and it has reached a level that he has never seen before. For him, Kissoon said that it was an area of life that needed to be investigated and thus he did it and presented the thesis research.
The witness was asked about the research methodology he used. Kissoon’s research took the form of examination of important documents, content analysis of policy makers’ speeches, interviews with relevant actors and the research of historical documents.
Kissoon had noted his academic interest is in the ethnic problem that runs through the history of Guyana. He said therefore in his training it would have been ideal to investigate the racial dilemma.
He said that with particular reference to the research in question, it was driven by the manifestation of state discrimination in the employment policies.
In addition to claims by the columnist, the Kissoon’s lawyers had questioned former Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon on the question employment practices particularly in the Foreign Affairs sector.
At the time, the questions surrounded the fact that Elizabeth Harper was the only Guyanese of African descent to hold the position of Ambassador.
Harper was based in Guyana and served as the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to CARICOM. Dr. Luncheon confirmed that Harper was the only Ambassador who performed dual functions.
Dr. Luncheon was further asked if there was currently no other African Guyanese who qualified to get an overseas posting as Ambassador, and he said there was none.
Luncheon was questioned extensively on the other areas including the award of agricultural lands, and contracts during the tenure of President Jagdeo.
Dr. Luncheon testified that it was the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board that awarded contracts and not the President.
He later admitted that as per procedure contracts are awarded by the Tender Administration Board only after a “Non Objection” is issued by Cabinet – the Cabinet being the Council of Government Ministers chaired by the President.
The former Head of the Presidential Secretariat further agreed that if the Cabinet, again chaired by the President, made an objection to a contract, then it could not be awarded by the Tender Administration Board.