AG Nandlall – reflect, set standard, exemplify

Apr 26, 2026 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

Hard Truths by GHK Lall

(Kaieteur News) – Mr. Anil Nandlall, honorable Attorney General, has a dilemma. His foot is in a trap, and the more he opens his mouth to help himself, the more he makes matters worse. What was heard from the Caribbean Court of Justice was the subtle chiding of Guyana’s attorney general. Neither poke in the eye, nor slap on the wrist, but the slightest of slight admonishments. Take it easy, Mr. Nandlall. Take greater care learned Counsel. Take responsibility. Take charge, set new standards. Let those be the standards, with the weight, strength, and prestige of the Attorney General’s office brought to bear. For change, for betterment. For a Guyana yearned for, but still unseen. Somebody has to try, and Mr. Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, MP should have been far in front of a Guyanese of no standing like me.

Mr. Nandlall tried putting up a defense. He hurt himself further, didn’t help his cause. There are times, when it’s best to say nothing, take things on the chin and, with lesson absorbed, move on. Endlessly trying to prove points is a pointless exercise. There are much bigger challenges arrayed before. Meanwhile, all Guyanese should appreciate what the CCJ President, Justice Winston Anderson very gently tabled. I urge my brother Anil to take to heart what he articulated, and start over. Be the standard bearer, Mr. Nandlall. Be a role model, AG Nandlall. Recoil and retreat, Friar Nandlall from registering wolrdwide as another PPP Govt iteration of Live in Guyana, or some shallow State media agent.

An attorney general is a country’s Chief Legal Adviser. Few will disagree with CCJ President, Mr. Anderson; and I have said so at different times using different words. An adviser recommends. A chief legal adviser recommends and insists (and persists). This will be the standard. This is the mode of communication, of conveying disagreement, of making a point. Regardless of the thirst for vengeance, the bitterness created by a former bosom friend, since transformed (or made into) a blood enemy. Going to extremes to stick it to a foe, with egging on well-wishers as a probable byproduct, has a way of blowing up in the face. To work the crowd, whip it into a frenzy, against that duo, is what Justice Anderson found so counterproductive, so counterintuitive. Said he, “we are just wondering whether the Attorney General making those kinds of statements…is the best practice for the kind of society and democracy that we seek to encourage in Guyana.” As putdowns go, that one is incomparable. Instructive that instead of AG Nandlall holding his peace, he preferred countering and prevaricating.

With clearance from Justice Anderson and Senior Counsel Nandlall, I interpret what the former said. The kind of society that exists in Guyana is troubling, too turbulent, a torture to those for whom the civil, the circumspect, and the tactful matter. A society that claws its way to the kind of discipline that respects process, and respects the fundamental rights of others. President Anderson set the tone: he didn’t shove. He nudged. Mr. Nandlall’s head is not so hard that the messages wrapped in that quote bounces off without making a dent, any kind of impression. Speak softer. Articulate position quieter. Eviscerate adversary slower. Like that wise man said without saying, ‘not the best practice’, not with a different kind of democracy and society in mind for Guyana.

It means that Guyanese democracy and society are a far cry from what’s acceptable. What’s found appealing, inspires. Anil Nandlall may be unfazed; but, as a Guyanese, I’m ashamed. Heard was this cherished homeland lacks requisite standards. Lacks people who genuinely try. People with the requisite character, people with an unyielding will to introduce, fight for, and drive through changes for a different Guyana. If I somehow offended Anil Nandlal, I would regret that immensely. I think he should regroup and restart. I would join him in speaking to, and about, fellow Guyanese at a different level. If he doesn’t, I’ll walk-on; immovably confident that I never walk alone.

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AG Nandlall, Caribbean Court of Justice, exemplify, GHK Lall

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