— Police provided with audio, transcript of plot
Mr. Anil Nandlall, Guyana’s Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, has revealed chilling plans for the execution of Kaieteur News publisher, Mr. Glenn Lall.
Publisher and Owner of Kaieteur News Glenn Lall about to hand over to police a copy of a statement and recording.
This is unfolding as the most bizarre, criminal twist in an ongoing feud between the State and this newspaper.
Alluding to an imminent attack, Nandlall advised a senior reporter of the newspaper to get out of the Saffon Street office, which he described as a “dangerous place”.
He hinted at an intended hit on Lall and the establishment.
“No, hear nah, you know how it gun stop? Somebody gun go into Kaieteur…You see everybody nah gat, as I told Adam today …I said Adam, everybody don’t just…everybody, wait hold on…everybody doesn’t have a newspaper to use as a weapon. I told Adam, I said ‘Adam people got weapons, right?
“Is not newspaper they gonna use as a weapon; they got weapons and when you continue attack people like that and they have no way of responding they gun just walk with their weapon into that same f***ing Saffon Street office and wha come suh do, and innocent… Peter gun gah pay fuh f***ing Paul in deh one day.
“Me ah tell you innocent, me ah tell you honestly, man to man, that will happen soon. So the quicker you get out of deh the better.”
Describing himself as a “thoroughbred” and as a “Kshatriya” (pronounced Chatree), a reference to an upper social class in India, known to be united by their claims to rulership, the pursuit of war, or the possession of land.
Nandlall hurled a string of expletives in his almost 19-minute harangue on the intended plan against Lall.
He portrayed himself as a “bad-man” who “running things” in Guyana. He boasted that the former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, his best friend Bobby Ramroop, and Winston Brassington, are no match for him.
Khemraj Ramjattan speaks to reporter’s outside the Eve Leary Police station yesterday.
“I think that you should… my first advice to you is that you should move out of there… it is a dangerous f***ing place to work. Is a dangerous place because I am telling you, read between the lines, this thing not going to go on for long; people not going to tek this thing just so.
“Is a lot of powerful people that this man…wait, nobody never used to bother with he before, right? And he used to get away…get through with all wha he publishing.
“But people get… people get sensitive now, they were chatree coolie rass, you know what is chatree?
“You don’t engage a chatree in f***ing war and that is what he has done …When he start fuh publish that I go and spy pun he and all kinda f***ing madness .you nah see deh f***ing tempo change after that?”
“Me nah Jagdeo and Bobby, yuh know, and Brassington…We come from a higher breed of people, you understand?”
An audio disc of Nandlall’s comments and a complete statement were handed over Deputy Police Commissioner, Balram Persaud. Assistant Police Commissioner David Ramnarine was also present when Lall, accompanied by his Attorney-at-Law Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan, lodged a formal complaint, and urged stepped up security for him and his employees, and an immediate investigation with a view to laying criminal charges against the Attorney General.
“It’s clear from the tape that the destruction resulting from clashes from the political scene is heightening to the state that they want to do harm” Ramjattan said.
He said that the evidence is now there the people of this country can now put a stop to it.
“It’s obvious state terrorism….It’s extremely damming to the state of affairs” Ramjattan stated.
The Kaieteur News publisher two weeks ago had filed a complaint with the Ruimveldt Police Station, reporting a plot to shoot up Kaieteur News and his intended execution, which was to be made to look like an accident.
This came about because of publication of correspondence involving Khurshid Sattaur, Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner-General, and former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, to destroy him and his business.
Mr. Lall had earlier also accused Nandlall of spying on his Saffon Street establishment. Nandlall reacted that he would use other weapons against Lall in place of cameras, if he wanted to destroy him.
In his recent telephone call to the reporter, Nandlall also disclosed that he had to restrain his uncle, Kamal Mangal, from getting at Lall for publishing information that the man had imported a high-end luxury vehicle duty-free on the pretext that he was a re-migrant, although he continues to live overseas.
At the time the duty-free concessions were granted by GRA, where Nandlall’s wife is Senior Legal Advisor, Mangal was living at the home of the Attorney-General.
“You know who is Kamal Mangal? The man look stupid, one bald head f***ing poor man. You know who da man is? Must find out wha da man own and what he could do with one phone call, alyuh nah know who alyuh a deal with, I had to hold back that man.”
Nandlall unleashed his fury over a promise by Kaieteur News to expose the fact that he used tax dollars to fund a private medical bill for his wife. He said that he has since repaid that money to the Ministry of Health.
The Attorney General protested that Lall should have never brought his wife into the picture.
“I told, I told Glenn, I meet with Glenn. I sit down and talk with him. I use some money from the government and Glenn mek an issue of it. I pay back de f***ing money long before he even mek de issue and he know about it.
“Remember you were going to publish something about my wife and so on? I am not worried about what he gun publish…Me I am a f***ing thoroughbred.
“I…I just don’t want him to publish things about me wife. That is all I don’t want, you understand? Because she is innocent.”
The threats by the Attorney General have brought back memories of the shocking August 8, 2006 slaughter of five pressmen, who were gunned down, execution-style, by armed invaders at the Eccles printery of the Kaieteur News.
(See below – Transcript of telephone call by the Attorney General to the Kaieteur News reporter).
The following is the audio recording and transcript of the abovementioned conversation.
TRANSCRIPT OF A PHONE CONVERSATION BETWEEN GUYANA’S ATTORNEY GENERAL, ANIL NANDLALL AND LEONARD GILDARIE, SENIOR REPORTER, KAIETEUR NEWS
Call made by Nandlall….
Leonard Gildarie (LG): Hello
Attorney General (AG): Hey Gildarie
LG: hey wha happening
AG: is who been by me amm cousin and interview he, you?
LG: yes dem sen me dem send me
AG: But how you misquote the man suh man
LG: How the f**k I misquote the man, we got the man pun record and is not me alone, they had other staff there too
AG: Who, who is the other staff, some nice girl dem sen’
LG: Man me can’t give you the name man… oww
AG: De man wan f**k de girl man, the man tell me seriously he wan knock de girl
LG: How he gun f**k de girl
AG: No but still chief (inaudible) de man say he wan knock de ting, you can arrange
LG: Man wha happening what alyuh got this thing going so far fuh man, me got me fucking job
AG: well glen nah use he…eh
LG: Me got me job fuh lose
AG: No no me nah quarrel with you but all I am saying half wha he never tell you, de man say he never tell you that he didn’t know that he got to live in Guyana, the man said he live here but he got fuh travel
LG: The man said duh, we got it on record
AG: Wha record ?the man say you nah tape nothing yuh nah write nothing
LG: The man nah know bout smart phone, of course we does be taping these people there anil
AG: Anyhow me ah tell you man say cuz me aint been dey, but me driver been deh
LG: No but whatever it is because I had to, of course I had an input I had to do it because dem send me and the other reporter and is not me either remember is the editors dem to, I don’t see why
AG: Yeah but who is the girl
LG: Me gun tell you a cant tell you on the phone man oh sk**t you wan fuck me up
AG: Whaaam glen nah a tap me phone man he nah got dem technology
LG: No no man nah do dah, dem got people
AG: uh
LG: Ah cant do duh but a cant tell you who that is but is one of we staff hey
AG: Oh oh some (inaudible)
LG: Is a reporter dem woulda send dem wouldn’t a send me alone, you know I don’t do much
AG: Eh hey
LG: amm
AG: Anyhow me nah know..wait no
LG: Ammm
AG: But hear nuh gildarie you do a story on duh , what is he gotayhing, if me uncle
LG: Yea but…
AG: Hear nah, if me brother, leh we say, you got brothers
LG: Eh hey
AG: if you brother murder somebody, wha duh mean you a go jail, me na…leh we assume that me uncle do something wrong I am not responsible.. me aint understand what the what the theory is, I am trying to figure out what is the end game …what’s the plan
LG: Uh huh
AG: By publishing ah ah, the AG uncle the AG uncle, if me uncle do something wrong me uncle is liable to face the consequence of it
LG: Right Right
AG: So me aint understand why why is he putting that
LG: (inaudible) me say leh alyuh talk to the man direct and alyuh see wha alyuh can do because this thing cant continue we as staffers get caught up in it because we gotta wuk
(inaudible voice in background)
AG: Hear nah, reaz is he brother, reaz use to put cocaine in shrimps and prawns and (inaudible voice in background) smuggle it all out (inaudible voice in background) ya’ll aint publish, I got details of how glen threaten fuh back track me know bout all duh budday, me nah wan disclose dem things duh but I could do it if he want fuh go down dah line (inaudible voice in background)
LG: Boy me aint know wha fuh tell you boy except that I decide that i..
AG: You know wha Reaz do, you know Reaz full a container of apple and grapes off de fucking wharf …eating and go and put it at Melanie pon the side of the road and hook it up pun a GPL container, ah GPL lantern post and freeze a container of apple and grapes free for nearly three months (inaudible voice in background) you nah know and people a pass up and down pun de road and dem think dat the container just fall off the road and it full with apple and grape
LG: But hear hear wha (inaudible)
AG: The president already spoke, not glen but to Bhena, right
LG : I just (inaudible)
AG: I am telling you boss how every effort has been made, Glen Lall is mad, he run mad
LG: (inaudible) Sattaur deh going at a set of newspaper and talking he sk**t whole day he cant continue doing that
AG: Yeah but if glen got to understand that we cant, look he never read nothing from Sattaur, he refused, he was asked to, to just behave good for one week, he couldn’t f**king do that
LG: No but deh man run to to ting everyday, ah just telling you wha how we seeing him because I cant I cant (inaudible)
AG: Now glen go an manufacture a fucking whole story about the man going an get ban from ACCA and all kinda madness
LG: Because now every single day it just continuing continuing, Sattaur running till to guyana times he running to Chronicle we deh pun
AG: wheh, wheh,anyway wheh you deh now
LG: Me just deh at the back, I deh at the back of Kaieteur News
AG: Whah you doing deh
LG: Ah just come fuh tek dis call heh
AG: hello
LG: boy me nah wha fuh tell you but alyuh just sort it out because I don’t know how long I gun able (inaudible)
AG: So why you don’t come across and come work with we?
LG: Wha deh f**k you gun offer me
AG: Better than Kaieteur News
LG: Man we gun gaff man but alyuh need to stop (inaudible)
AG: Send me a proposal of what you working for and um
LG: Ah gun have to discuss it with the wife
AG: No discuss it with your wife because the president and I clear on something.. we are building an elitist press team right
LG: Yall do something man because I getting lil tired but alyuh stop this fucking thing nah alyuh stop because the country..
AG: no hear nah you know how it gun stop? somebody gun go into Kaieteur, you see everybody nah gat as I told Adam today I said adam everbody don’t joust.. everybody, wait hold on…everybody doesn’t have a newspaper to use as a weapon, I told Adam, I said Adam people got weapons right, is not newspaper they gonna use as a weapon they got weapons and when you continue attack people like that and they have no way of responding they gun just walk with their weapon into that same fucking Saffon street office and wha come suh do and innocent, Peter gun gah pay fuh f**king Paul in deh one day, me ah tell you innocent, me a tell you honestly man to man that will happen soon
LG: I don’t know (inaudible)
AG: So the quicker you get out of deh, the quicker you get out of deh the better
LG: Amm hear hear
AG: This thing is ah hear, you cannot use your newspaper like that boss, you get charge, whether you feel, whether you feel you get charged wrongfully or not you can’t use yuh newspaper to drag a set of f**king innocent people in this, if and de people (inaudible) money, you know who is Kamal Mangal, the man look stupid, one bald head f**king poor man, you know who da man is ?
LG: (inaudible)
AG: But but alright must find out wha da man own and what he could do with one phone call, alyuh nah know who alyuh a deal with, I had to hold back that man
LG: But is why alyuh don’t stop it ya’ll (inaudible)
AG: uh hmm
LG: (inaudible)
AG: Anyhow, the man, the man view is that he is above everybody else that he is above the law and that he own this newspaper and he could buse enrybody comrade no society works like that, none none, there is a simple way of dealing with a situation yuh know , I tell Glen already ..he knows my capacity and I know his,…me nah got to go to court everyday and issue press statement I don’t have to revert to those methods
LG: I like how yall (inaudible)
AG: There are far more effective methods to which I can resort… right
LG: Ammm wha wha wha whats the reason (inaudible)
AG: I told, I told Glen I meet with glen I sit and down and talk with him (inaudible) I use some money from the government and Glen mek and issue of it I pay back deh fucking money long before he even mek de issue and he know about it because wha it pay fuh
LG: Which issue is dat
AG: Remember you were going to publish something (inaudible) about my wife and so on
LG: (inaudible)
AG: (inaudible) months ago not now months ago (inaudible) but I just, I am not worried about what he gun publish, me I am a f**king thoroughbred , I.. I just don’t want him to publish things about me wife that is all I don’t want you understand because she is innocent
LG: it goes beyond that (inaudible)
AG: Yeah but boss there’s two to tango one man cant tango
LG: Yeah but but how, who are we interviewing how do we because (inaudible)
AG: I already, I sent a message already and I… Bhena has been in contact with the president, they are very close right but glen is not keeping up his end of the bargain, the things them that Bhena spoke, they work out an arrangement
LG: But Anil, but Anil (inaudible)
AG: uh huh, uh uh
LG: (inaudible)
AG: well I Sankar a he man in law (inaudible) all of that
LG: (inaudible) but Sattaur started it..(inaudible)
AG: Me aint know bout all a dat but I know what I know , wait chief, I am clean, I am clean right.. I never take a dog from any f**king body and what he is doing is to get at me through me family cause he cant find nothing on me I never thief, you understand me nah other people you know what wha he can (inaudible) thing pun, you understand, I never tek a
LG: (inaudible)
AG: Gildarie me a wan rich man me tek f**king government and become poor you… understand and glen knows that, me I achieve everything I wuk in life before I tek government, I retire, I retire at age 38 when I became attorney general I don’t have to work
LG: tell me so wha you wan me fuh do (inaudible)
AG: I think that you should, my first advice to you is that you should move out of there… it is a dangerous f**king place to work, is a dangerous place because that, I am telling you, read between the lines this thing not going to go on for long, people not going to tek this thing just so is a lot of powerful people that this man, wait ,nobody never used to bother with he before right and he used to getaway, get through with all wha he publishing but people get, people get sensitive now, they were chatree coolie rass, you know what is chatree
LG: (inaudible)
AG: you don’t engage a chatree in f**king war and that is what he has done …when he start fuh publish that I go and spy pun he and all kinda fucking madness .you nah see deh fucking tempo change after that, right.
LG: I
AG: me nah Jagdeo and Bobby yuh know and Brassington (inaudible) we come from a higher breed of people, you understand
LG: All right let me talk, a gun mek some calls fuh you cause I aint know (inaudible)
AG: Anyhow nobody nah gun listen to you man nah worry with da stupidness the thing is that amm they should, we have some things we are doing on this side
LG: uh huh
AG: and you should think about your, boy me and BJ does talk about you and we believe that you does still f**king leak back information but amm you will have a review
LG: Alright must give me a call
AG: You should come up with us (inaudible) but you see how (inaudible) but you see this thing go down this road it nah gon end good right, ego, this is share ego happening hey, this man is lynching my family for no reason at all, no reason at all, just because he want to get at me and why he want to get at me because he believe that in can withdraw these charges against him… I can’t…me nah file dese charges boss
LG: But why dem went ahead and charge this man knowing that dem nah get nothing
AG: Because nobody is above the law boss, you cant… hear nah man… you cant put youself up as St Peter
LG: No but hear I is no lawman but I was looking at the Act and they couldn’t a find a better way Sk**t because (inaudible)
AG: No, no that’s not necessary, he got eyewitness, Sattaur tell you he got eyewitness accounts of where the vehicles are parked, the vehicle dem don’t ever park at the people house the people dem don’t even have f**king driver’s licence boss, Sattaur must know that
LG: I was looking at some of the reports if the vehicle them are no longer (inaudible)
AG: did what what, I didn’t hear you
LG: I am no lawyer but if the vehicle (inaudible) am looking at the reports and its not appropriate (inaudible)
AG: You know them got some (inaudible) nuances in the law, you know on the face of it I agree with you
LG: Right Right!!
AG: But when you deeper, when you go deeper into the law you just cant… you see the law, the law looks at substance and not form, you can’t by not transferring your vehicle but giving a man the vehicle fuh use everyday, defeat the whole purpose of the thing, the law is not an ass, you understand
LG: (inaudible)
AG: The process, the people them (inaudible) hear we can end this tomorrow and all he gah do is go pay the duty and I could have worked out a reduced duty for him and the story done, anyway don’t give yourself too much liberty and say I talk to you and all kind of thing you know, let them believe that I you know cowering (pause) but eh man who is the girl man tell me who is de girl you a move away from you (inaudible)
LG: (inaudible)
AG: (inaudible) you cant give a girl name over de phone
LG: (inaudible)
AG: But who who is it me nah gun do nothing more wha de rass me gun do with the girl I just want know is who because the boy give a description and the girl is nice
LG: (inaudible)
AG: Nothing wrong with that e nah got nothing wrong with that me just wan know is who me nah got no ulterior motive, hai boss, me nah got no ulterior motive me nah (inaudible)nobody
LG:(inaudible)
AG: hmmm
LG: (inaudible)
AG: is Queen’s college people does run this country, you nah realize that (inaudible)
AG: Hmm, alright good eh hey
Unidentified voice: Hi um this is the guy that spoke to you the other day concerning the story that you did (inaudible) the guy said that the story would have been in today’s newspaper but we buy the paper and we aint see it
LG: That’s ok um I think we doing some investigations (inaudible)
Unidentified voice: hmm yea he told me that yesterday
LG: (inaudible) I am not sure what happened but I think the report is there in his office
Unidentified voice: yea we spoke with him yesterday afternoon and he told me he spoke with Clifton and Clifton was very (inaudible) he didn’t say much
LG: I think that’s the nature of it um, a story just doesn’t appear in the paper like that I am sure the editors have their checks and balances so I guess uh uh I can speak to them for you and see (inaudible) but you could give him a call a little later and speak to him
Unidentified voice: what is his name because I forgot to ask
LG: Nicholas
Unidentified Voice: Nicholas, uh what’s his number
LG: you got to call through the office 225-8492
Unidentified Voice: Ok can I call now
LG: no no no he is going to be here till after lunch
Unidentified Voice: Oh oh alright sure