Judge to rule in lawsuit involving Rowley next year

PORT OF SPAIN (CMC):

A High Court judge has set March 8 next year as the date when she will deliver her ruling in a defamation lawsuit brought against Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, by an opposition legislator, Dr Roodal Moonilal.

Moonilal brought the lawsuit against Rowley that was filed three years ago, after Rowley allegedly accused him of benefiting financially from the purchase of a property known as Eden Gardens in Freeport in west central Trinidad from Point Lisas Park Ltd by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) in 2012 for TT$175 million (one TT dollar = US$0.16 cents).

Also named as defendants in the claim are the Trinidad Express Newspapers, its editor-in-chief Omatie Lyder, as well as reporter Anna Ramdass, who wrote the story on January 6, 2020.

Justice Carol Gobin set the date for delivering her decision after she gave directions for filing submissions. Both Rowley and Moonilal had testified on the first day of the trial.

On Tuesday, Ramdass said she contacted Rowley about calls by Fixin T&T founder, Kirk Waithes, for him to fire a senior member of his cabinet.

In cross-examination by Moonilal’s lead attorney, Larry Lalla, SC, Ramdass said the prime minister told her to contact Waithes and have him provide her with the WhatsApp exchanges.

She said she understood the prime minister to be raising questions involving corruption by several people and not specifically one person.

Ramdass also said the story published on January 6, 2020, was not about Moonilal, so there was no need to contact him.

She also said it was not her call to block out Moonilal’s name in the publication of the WhatsApp exchange, but that of her editors, adding “I just reported exactly what the PM stated.”

She also said she was guided by her editors when asked why she didn’t do a follow-up story on the PM’s statements by calling Moonilal.

“I was reporting the PM’s response. That was the story. I did my job as a journalist on duty that day.”

She said she didn’t decide what was published or not, or what was deemed urgent or not.

“My editors make that decision.”

She said Rowley’s response to her was in relation to the calls for the minister’s termination, and “everything he said was important,” but it was her editors who decided what to publish.

“The story wasn’t about Dr Moonilal.”

The newspaper has denied the article was the product of irresponsible journalism and said the matter was in the public’s interest.