High Court denies injunction against Guyana Times, Opposition Leader

High Court Judge Fidela Corbin-Lincoln on Tuesday denied an injunction filed by engineer Charles Ceres to prevent Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo from speaking about Government’s alleged massive land giveaway, from which he reportedly benefitted. The court also denied Ceres’ application to prevent Guyana Times from publishing stories on the same matter.

Ceres and his wife, who is an employee of the Ministry of the Presidency, filed for the injunction against this newspaper after reports were published on alleged land corruption within the Government. The allegations were made by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo during his weekly press conference in June. Guyana Times along with other media houses reported the Opposition Leader’s claims and were subsequently sued by Ceres and his wife for libel. They are seeking over $200 million each in damages.
In his statement of claim, Ceres and his wife are seeking damages from Jagdeo and Guyana Times for statements he made for alleging they obtained public lands at Canje Creek, Bohemia and Liliendaal by corrupt, illegal and/or criminal means.

Jagdeo had initially expressed concerns about the massive giveaway of lands by the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission to alleged associates of employees of the Ministry of the Presidency at strategic locations to massively benefit the beneficiaries from the coming oil boom. Guyana Times, along with several other media houses, had reported on the matter. Jagdeo had accused Ceres of obtaining hundreds of acres of land in Canje Creek, Region Six, and in Bohemia, Region Six. Following the accusations, Ceres and his wife denied the allegations.