Newly-appointed acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards has disclosed that the incident involving Attorney General Basil Williams and High Court Judge, Justice Franklin Holder was being looked into.
The acting Chancellor made this disclosure to media operatives on Tuesday following the swearing-in ceremony for herself and acting Chief Justice Roxane George before President David Granger at State House.
Attorney General Basil Williams
“As the acting Chief Justice then and as the acting Chancellor now, I am in receipt of information in relation to that matter and the matter is currently being addressed,” Justice Cummings-Edwards told Guyana Times when questioned about the issue.
According to the acting Chancellor, the Judiciary will be issuing an official report on the matter as soon as the process is completed.
Meanwhile, the newly-appointed acting Chief Justice, when approached for a comment on the matter, told reporters that the issue was being dealt with and declined to further comment, noting that the matter was sub judice.
Opposition parliamentarian Anil Nandlall on Thursday last claimed that Justice Holder walked off the bench that morning, following an exchange with Attorney General Williams, during which the AG allegedly threatened him. This incident occurred during the trial of Carvil Duncan, who had moved to the court to block the work of a presidential tribunal that was set up to determine whether he should be removed from his post as Chairman of the Public Service Commission in light of his criminal charges, one of which was since dismissed at the Magistrate’s Court.
Former AG Anil Nandlall
At a press conference on Friday, Williams denied threatening the Judge and in turn, threatened to sue Guyana Times and Kaieteur News for publishing the assertion.
According to Williams, he “…saw the Judge was about to leave and so I said, ‘ex abundante cautela – out of excessive caution – could I enquire whether the answer ‘no’ was recorded?’ The Judge, to my surprise said ‘Mr Williams, you’re not in charge of my court’ and I said ‘Sir, not me, but that could safely be said of Mr Nandlall who has been trying to control your court for the entire morning’.”
The AG went on to say following that further exchanges mentioned about an encounter with a magistrate during which he said “incidentally, that magistrate is dead now”; “I moved on and the Judge and I continued addressing issues”.
Nandlall, who was the opposing counsel at the time, insisted that the AG’s actions caused the Judge to storm out of the courtroom without adjourning the matter.
Nandlall had said in a previous statement that after three hours of futile and ineffective cross-examination, Williams became agitated and accused the Judge of not accurately recording an answer from the witness.
However, in a formal complaint written to the acting Chancellor following the incident, Justice Holder related his version of what transpired in his courtroom. As reported in sections of the media, the High Court Judge outlined in the letter that the AG made comments towards him to the effect of: “I could say what I want to say and, however, I want to say it, I have always been like that.”
Nandlall has since called for the release of the letter to the public, noting that the article did not accurately reflect the complaint lodged by Justice Holder.
“My information is that the Judge’s version of what transpired in the court between himself and Basil Williams is almost identical to what I reported publicly and that is set out in the letter. The Judge also demands an apology from Williams. All these are in the letter; hence, the apparent refusal to make the letter public… I am calling for the letter to be made public,” the former Attorney General outlined.
Only Saturday last, Nandlall, at a press conference, pointed out that the Attorney General’s recent attacks on the Judiciary painted a picture that he (Williams) was of the view that the Judiciary must deliver rulings in favour of the Government.
“(Williams) believes that the Judiciary should not rule against the Government. That demonstrates a mentality that the Judiciary must be compliant with the Government,” Nandlall had stated.
Meanwhile, the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has since called for President David Granger to launch a probe into this recent attack on the Judiciary by AG Williams, adding that failure “to act decisively in this matter would certainly send an ominous signal”.
