Attorney General Basil Williams has been silent since allegations of misconduct surfaced some weeks ago and President David Granger on Wednesday told the media that he has instructed the Attorney General to respond to the issue. However, this has not been done.
“I’ve asked the Attorney General to respond to me. He hasn’t done so in writing but I have seen a copy of it,” he said.
The allegations were compiled in a letter and were addressed to members of the Government. The letter revealed that 19 lawyers resigned from the Legal Affairs Ministry since 2015. The employees, who wrote the letter, also levelled allegations of gross misconduct against the Attorney General.
“It’s (the letter) anonymous and we have to be very careful with anonymous letters. If somebody had evidence, they would put their name to it and defend that evidence but if it’s a fake letter, anybody can write anything but I’ve seen it,” Granger positioned.
Along with the accusations, the employees called for a thorough probe into the operations of the Ministry, judging from alleged mismanagement and the substantial number of cases lost by the Attorney General’s Chambers.
According to the letter, lawyers in the AG’s Chambers have to contend with a difficult and even toxic and abusive working environment.
Some of those lawyers who left the Chambers include former Registrar and Solicitor General, Sita Ramlall, who was forced to move to the High Court last year over her pension and gratuity being withheld. Former Deputy Solicitor General Prithima Kissoon also sued for wrongful dismissal.
The Attorney General had come in for much criticism, previously for his comments on Kissoon, with commentators bashing the manner in which he dealt with the matter.
In a letter to the Editor published in local newspapers in 2017, the former Deputy Solicitor General’s father, prominent Attorney Jailall Kissoon, pointed out that this is the first time in legal history that an AG has levelled such a blast of terror and fear upon the Judiciary or his own legal officer.
