Full Court dismisses injunction against Manzoor Nadir

By Tiffiny Rhodius

A day after the Full Court dismissed her injunction against Manzoor Nadir, The United Force (TUF) presidential candidate Valerie Garrido-Lowe was evicted from Unity House, the party’s headquarters.

When Guyana Times International arrived at Unity House on Wednesday afternoon, two men, in the company of party chairman Ismail Muhammad, had just kicked in the office door of the bottom flat of the building. Garrido-Lowe was sitting at a desk inside the office. Realising that the media was in the building, Muhammad responded with hostility demanding that Guyana Times International leave.

Muhammad went on to threaten to physically remove the reporter and a cameraman from the Evening News from the building, as Garrido-Lowe urged him to “leave the reporter alone.” The party chairman said he was acting under the instructions of Nadir to put her out. Nadir was successful on Tuesday in getting the Full Court to dismiss an injunction which Garrido-Lowe had brought against him and Muhammad in September.

That injunction restrained Nadir and Muhammad from “interfering with Garrido-Lowe’s functions as leader, presidential candidate and executive member of the TUF, until the hearing and determination of a returnable summons in this cause”. The injunction was granted on September 7 by Justice Bovell Drakes. In response, Nadir moved for a dismissal of the injunction in the Full Court. The Full Court, which comprised Justice William Ramlall and Justice Winston Patterson, dismissed Garrido-Lowe’s injunction on the premise that Justice Drakes did not follow proper procedure in granting the injunction.

The injunction was granted after Nadir, Muhammad and several others said to be the executive of TUF met on September 1 and decided Garrido-Lowe should be stripped of her post as party leader and presidential candidate and expelled from the party. Their actions stemmed from Garrido-Lowe expelling Muhammad from the party back in August after the two fell out over Garrido-Lowe asking Nadir to vacate the party’s only seat in Parliament.

Garrido-Lowe had said that Nadir and Muhammad were trying to bully her as she wanted to steer the party away from an alliance with the ruling People’s Progressive Party in whose government Nadir holds the labour minister post. Nadir had nominated Garrido-Lowe as presidential candidate of the party when he resigned from the post back in July. He was full of praise for her back then, but now he says he is working to reverse the damage she has done to the party.

Resistance

On Wednesday, Garrido-Lowe stood her ground and refused to vacate the premises.

“Why should I leave when I’m in the right? Why should I leave?” Garrido-Lowe asked.

Standing at the door of the building, she said that Nadir told her earlier in the day to hand over the keys. “So, I said ‘Mr Nadir you know I would give you the keys first word if you were in the right. You wouldn’t even have to ask me for the keys if you were in the right, but you’re not and you know it’. So that’s it: he’s not in the right,” Garrido-Lowe recounted.

Still maintaining that she is the leader and presidential candidate, Garrido-Lowe said: “In my mind, it’s illegal, it’s unfair, it’s sheer bullyism – pure bullyism.” She indicated that her lawyers have told her that the injunction does not in any way affect her position as leader. She stood in the office for nearly an hour before packing up her belonging and moving out. Her stand against what she considers an injustice was not taken alone. There were several party members who stood by her side, while others stood outside the building.

Long-time party member and executive, Rudolph McPherson said that he was not happy with the high handed tactics employed by Nadir. “Let me say this quite clearly, according to the two judges in the Full Court, they did not rule that Miss Lowe is not the leader and the presidential candidate. ….” So is Garrido-Lowe still the party leader? According to McPherson, she is. “The party constitution is the final analysis in this whole matter.” He went on to explain that the party has to wait until the national conference where all the members will have to be involved for the election and or expulsion of the chairman and general secretary within three months time. “But Ms Lowe has the authority under the leadership to expel all of them..,” said McPherson.