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Burke to sue Jagdeo for $100M
Kaieteur News- United States-based Guyanese political activist and commentator Rickford Burke had threatened to sue Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo for libel one day before a wanted bulletin was issued by the police for him.
Burke in a recent statement to the press expressed the view that his threat to sue Jagdeo may be the reason behind the move to issue a wanted bulletin for him. In a statement Burke said that his lawyers have been instructed to sue Jagdeo for GUY$100 million for libel.
The bulletin was issued on December 3, 2021. Burke’s lawyer Eusi Anderson had written to the VP, the previous day outlining his intention to take legal action against him for libel.
The Pre-action Protocol Letter addressed to Jadgeo referenced his participation in an interview with “Guyanese Critic” on July 16, 2021. In that interview, Anderson contends that Jagdeo names his client in a manner that “specifically and expressed removed any doubt that he meant to direct the public‘s attention to anyone other than Rickford Burke.”
“In the interview, the lawyer went on to say that Jagdeo inter alia stated Burke is a racist.
He quoted the VP as saying “if you look at Burke, Rickford Burke or Sherod Duncan or Benschop, they are first of all attention seekers and then so they fabricate stuff…Rickford Burke gets recognised now he has become a leader by saying… Nandlall wanted to kill him, why would Nandlall want to kill or have a plot against Burke. Burke is a nonentity. Burke is a man who ran away from his country under questionable circumstances. In New York, he Burke is known as a low life, the guy doesn’t have any… I don’t even think he has a job, a regular day job … I heard that the only thing CGID does is that it collects donations from people and he Burke lives off these things. Burke has nuisance value to us” According to Anderson, his client has denied all the claims by the VP. He noted that Burke has instructed him that he is not in the habit of fabrication or expressing dishonesty or anything that undergirds such practices. “…He has instructed me that he is not known as ‘low life in New York nor does he live off of donations.’
Burke has further instructed me that he maintains gainful employment.
Burke has further instructed me that he never departed Guyana under questionable circumstances.
By logic of deduction he considers the whole of July 16, 2021 public comments on him to be baseless,” Anderson said.
Given that the utterances made by the VP can be taken to the discredit of Burke’s character, the attorney has demanded that Jagdeo within seven days; until December 10 to apologise publicly for the false misleading contents of the interview.
The lawyer also required Jagdeo to, along with the retraction and apology to come up with a reasonable financial offer of settlement. Failure to do so, Anderson said will result in further legal proceedings.
The Guyana Police Force on Friday night issued a wanted bulletin for Burke on allegations of sedition among other things.
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