King demands apology from AFC Councillor over No-Confidence motion

Town Clerk, Royston King has sent a lawyer’s letter, demanding a “full, frank and contrite” apology from Alliance For Change (AFC) Councillor and Former Deputy Mayor, Sherod Duncan, over articles published in the daily newspapers about a no-confidence motion he brought against the Town Clerk.

Duncan, on February 26, submitted a No-Confidence motion against King, accusing him of careless and reckless actions which damaged the image of the council. The motion was thrown out on March 12 by Mayor Patricia Chase-Green based on “legal advice.”

The lawyer’s letter was sent to Duncan by Attorney-at-law, Maxwell Edwards on behalf of King, where he asked for a retraction of articles published in the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday, February 14, 2018 under the title “Duncan signals no-confidence vote against King;” on Tuesday, February 27, 2018 under the title “King faces no-confidence vote;” and on Sunday, March 11, 2018, under the title “Secret ballot to decide King’s Fate.”

The articles each contained comments made by Duncan relating to the Town Clerk’s actions which caused him to be unfit to function in his position.

The letter is dated March 21, 2018, and was released by Duncan on his public Facebook page.

“You have caused the ordinary, right-thinking citizens of Georgetown in particular, and Guyana in general, to hold my client [King] in low self-esteem and as a person unfit and unsuitable and unqualified for the high profile office of Town Clerk; and accordingly my client has been defamed and brought into public odium, ridicule and contempt,” the lawyer’s letter stated.

The letter also warned the AFC Councillor that failure to comply with the demands will be considered as aggravating and will lead to legal proceedings.