PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Apr 9, CMC – Lawyers for the leader of the main opposition United National Congress (UNC), Kamla Persad Bissessar, Wednesday said that their client would not offer an apology to Attorney General, Camille Robinson-Regis, over statements she made during the campaign for the April 28 geneal election.
Robinson-Regis, through her lawyer, had given Persad Bissessar 28 days from the date of a pre-action protocol letter that was dated March 28, to pay four million dollars (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) as compensation for the slander contained in her March 17 statements.
Attorney Anthony Manwah said the statements made by Persad Bissessar, related to Robinson-Regis’ lack of a practising certificate from the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago, to the controversy involving a bank deposit of TT$143,000 years ago and to the use of a credit card.
The pre-action protocol letter said that, at the time of writing the letter, the YouTube video which published Persad-Bissessar’s words had been viewed approximately 31,000 times and was shared and redistributed widely to the public at large.
The letter noted that Persad-Bissessar questioned the legitimacy of Robinson-Regis’s appointment as Attorney General.
Manwah said Persad-Bissessar’s words in their natural and ordinary meaning were “undeniably defamatory” to Robinson-Regis, were “falsely and maliciously published and were calculated to damage and defame” her in her personal capacity and as Attorney General and as a candidate in the upcoming general election.
“Your said words have brought my client’s good name and reputation into odium and disrepute, have sullied her personal and professional reputation and have disparaged her in the eyes of the public. Furthermore, I am of the considered view that your words were made with a calculated effort to vilify my client’s good name in order to score cheap political points. You did so without having conducted due diligence of the truth and you did so without any regard to the legal consequences that can arise from these false utterances,” Manwah stated.
“In light of these authorities and the blatant disregard for my client’s reputation and malice aforethought displayed by you relative to your utterances, my client is currently prepared to accept compensation in the sum of $4 million to bring this matter to an end,” Manwah said.
But in her response, the law office of Chris A Hosein, noted that as late as 2021, then Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith stated that the investigation into Robinson-Regis was ongoing, and since then, there have been no official statements in the public domain that the investigation has been concluded.
In the six-page response, the law firm questioned Robinson-Regis’s assertion through her attorney that she was no longer under any investigation and found it telling that no official correspondence or announcement was produced to substantiate that claim.
They said that their client’s statements were not defamatory of Robinson-Regis and that Persad-Bissessar was entirely justified in making those statements, which were fair comments in matters of public interest and that any person under police investigation could be arrested and charged at any time, which would obviously be of concern to the public if the holder of the office of Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago were arrested
The attorneys also asked whether Robinson-Regis was making the threat of litigation in her official capacity as Attorney General, since her Attorneys Pre-Action Protocol Letter appears to suggest that it was and demanded clarification since the use of the Office of Attorney General to prosecute private defamation claims by the holder of that office would be a misuse of that office and have a chilling effect on democratic debate.
“ In all of the circumstances and about the matters mentioned above, our client denies every allegation that she has defamed your client and/or caused loss or damage to her reputation.
“At all material times, our client was entitled to publicly and on a political platform ask your client questions and further query the public’s confidence in your client’s appointment as Attorney General. In fact, as Leader of the Opposition and a former Attorney General
herself, it would be gravely irresponsible of our client not to raise those concerns in the public domain and in the public interest.”
The lawyers said general elections in Trinidad and Tobago were announced on March 18th, 2025, and “your letter subsequently came on March 28th, 2025, in the midst of election campaigning. The deadline you have given for a response falls on April 25th, 2025, which is a mere three days before Polling Day.
“Counsel has advised our client that the claims made in your letter are entirely devoid of merit and an abuse of the Court’s Pre-Action Protocols for naked political purposes, judging by the wide publicity your letter has received.
“Our client wishes to remind your client that she will not be daunted by any threats of legal action by your client, in her personal capacity or in your client’s official capacity as Attorney General. Our client will continue to raise matters of concern to the citizens of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in the public domain, as is her duty and responsibility,” the lawyers wrote in their letter, dated April 9, 2025.
CMC/ap/if/2025