Nascimento's Distortion of Principle and Guyana's Legal Obligations

Nascimento’s Distortion of Principle and Guyana’s Legal Obligations

Oct 12, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor,

Mr. Kit Nascimento’s recent letter in the Guyana Chronicle attempts to turn a principled discussion on law, sovereignty, and due process into partisan theatre. I welcome dissent, but what I cannot permit is the careless distortion of argument or the cheap vilification of citizens who still believe in the institutions of our Republic.

My earlier piece in Stabroek News and Kaieteur News did not defend any individual. It defended procedure: the lawful, constitutional, and moral framework by which a State must act. That distinction matters, because our country’s credibility is built on more process and less passion.

I stand by that framework because it is the same one that the current PPP/C administration, led by President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo, has painstakingly rebuilt after years of institutional trauma foisted upon us by Kit Nascimento’s Burnham government.

The PPP/C government’s consistent approach to the rule of law, judicial reform, and international cooperation already demonstrates an understanding of what I called the “protective core” of citizenship. In this sense, my intervention was not in any way a criticism of the government, but a reinforcement of its best instincts.

Mr. Nascimento’s bad habit of turning every legal question into an electoral morality play serves no one except himself. His statement that “those who voted for Mohamed will now see the consequences” betrays an older, more punitive Burhamite view of statecraft, one that confuses governance with vendetta and reduces citizenship and civic engagement to factionalism.

That attitude, familiar from earlier periods of our sordid history, has long proven corrosive to national cohesion and the development of civic political identities in Guyana.

The PPP/C government, for all its critics, has resisted such impulses. It has consistently anchored decision-making in the courts and in parliamentary oversight, and it has taken care to modernize legislation, from extradition protocols to AML reforms, that enhance transparency while safeguarding sovereignty.

When I urge the observance of due process, I am echoing the very principles that guide the administration’s legal architecture for the benefit of my fellow Guyanese nationals. Those who mistake this for defence of an individual reveal their own thinly-veiled cynicism about the State.

I respect Mr. Nascimento’s long service in public life. But the same history obliges him to exercise care. His generation helped shape Guyana’s institutions; it should not now be found undermining them with half-truths or partisan alarms. Younger Guyanese deserve to inherit a civic political culture that rewards reasoned argument, not reflexive hostility.

What is most urgently needed in our public life is the growth of a deeper civic consciousness, an understanding that rights come with responsibilities, and that national debate must rest on law, evidence, and respect. Such civic maturity will protect our democracy more effectively than any slogan or personality could. By developing an educated and ethically grounded citizenry, we safeguard both the rule of law and the moral authority of the Republic itself.

The long view of the State matters deeply in our ongoing transformation. Be advised!

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