PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -A defamation lawsuit brought against Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley by an opposition legislator continues after both men appeared before Justice Carol Gobin in the Port-of-Spain Civil Court on Monday.
Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley (center) flanked by his lawyers and security on his way to the High Court (Photo Trinidad Guardian) Newspaper)Opposition legislator, Dr. Roodal Moonilal has brought the lawsuit against Rowley that was filed three years ago, after Prime Minister 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.
Moonilal is also contending that irresponsible journalism by the Trinidad Express contributed to his public image being tarnished.
Senior Counsel, Douglas Mendes, who is leading Rowley’s legal team, told the court that his client did not specifically identify Moonilal as an “UNC operative” but maintained the opposition legislator had questions to answer in his former position as the housing minister and head of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC).
Moonilal is relying on a WhatsApp conversation Prime Minister Rowley had with Fixin T&T founder, Kirk Waithes, in which he spoke of “operatives” within the United National Congress (UNC), and raised questions concerning Moonilal and the purchase of Eden Gardens.
Moonilal said prior to the acquisition of Eden Gardens, together with HDC officials, he visited a number of sites that were being offered for sale and at no time did he give any directive or made any recommendation that any particular parcel of land be purchased.
“What I did, was asked them to consider the parcel of land,” he said.
But questioned by Mendes if he did not find it necessary to have a third valuation carried out given the TT$123 million difference in the two valuations, Moonilal said he did not.
“So having been unable to know which one was right and which one was wrong, you did not consider it wise to direct that another valuation be done?” asked Mendes.
“If I had done that, I would have been undermining the Ministry of Finance’s Commissioner of Valuations Department.”
“…What I considered wise was to have the recommendation made by the HDC fully disclosed to the Cabinet,” said Moonilal.
Contrary to Rowley’s interpretation of what an “operative” was, Moonilal, said he considered himself to be such an “operative”.
“In my view an operative is a person who would carry out various types of operations, a person who operates in various ways,” said Moonilal.
Under cross-examination yesterday by Moonilal’s lead attorney, senior counsel Larry Lalla, Rowley confirmed that the messages complained of were sent by him to Waithe, but denied he was referring to Moonilal.
Asked by the judge of what the interpretation of the word “operative” meant, Rowley said in his view, it was a person or entity that was the beneficiary of the actions of others.
“Dr Moonilal would be, like me, a functionary. An operative and a functionary have to be separated,” he said, adding however, that he was standing by his words that Moonilal, who is a functionary within the UNC and the then-minister of housing when Eden Gardens was purchased, “has questions to answer”.
Rowley told the court he could not recall if he had seen the pre-action protocol letter issued to him by Moonilal’s attorneys on January 7, 2020, the day after the WhatsApp exchanges were published in the Express.
The following day on January 8, Prime Minister Rowley hosted a “media cocktail party” during which he again spoke of Eden Gardens and Lalla asked whether he took the opportunity with the media present to clarify that he was not referring to his client.
The Prime Minister said he did not, nor did he think it was necessary.
“When you got the pre-action letter, he (Moonilal) was suggesting that you accused him of being involved in outright and humongous thievery,” said Lalla.
“Well he interpreted it the way he wanted to interpret it,” Rowley responded, adding “I do not know who benefited from it, but I know who is responsible for it”.
During his evidence, Prime Minister Rowley on January 5, 2020, he received a message from senior Express political reporter Ramdass asking him for comment on calls that Robinson-Regis be fired.
Based on the request, he said he referred the reporter to contact Waithe and have him provide her with the WhatsApp exchanges.
“I told her I talked to Kirk Waithe and if you want you can talk with him. He has it on his phone,” said the Prime Minister.
Under cross-examination by attorney Justin Phelps, who is part of the legal team representing the Express newspaper, Moonilal admitted that, given his ministerial portfolio, he, from time-to-time would have questions to answer.
Lyder in her testimony denied that the publication of the WhatsApp exchanges between Rowley and Waithe was irresponsible journalism, as was suggested by Lalla.
She said, in her view, Prime Minister Rowley was not accusing Moonilal but was instead asking questions in the WhatsApp exchanges.
She told the Court that the Prime Minister had essentially given permission to the journalist to publish the messages by him, referring her to Waithe to acquire them.
The matter was one of a public interest nature and this was why the newspaper moved to have the messages published the following day, she added.
