2015-HC-DEM-CIV-MIN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE

CIVIL JURISDICTION
In the matter of an Application by SALEESHA GAFOOR for a Writ of Quo Warranto.
Applicant
BEFORE THE HONOURABLE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. IAN CHANG (IN CHAMBERS)
DATED THE 8th DAY OF JUNE, 2015
ENTERED THE

DAY OF JUNE, 2015

UPON READING the Application by way of Notice of Motion on the part of

SALEESHA GAFOOR, the above named Applicant, filed herein on the 8th day of June, 2015,
for a Writ of Quo Warranto AND the Affidavit of the said Applicant, sworn to on the 8th day of
June, 2015, and filed in support thereof AND UPON HEARING Attorney-at-Law for the
Applicant IT IS ORDERED that and Order or Rule Nisi of Quo Warranto be and is hereby
directed to Trevor Williams, holding the office of Director of Youth, a public office in the
pensionable establishment of the Public Service of Guyana, and which falls within the Ministry
of Culture, Youth and Sport, to produce to this Honourable Court a warrant of appointment and
authority by which he holds the said office, unless sufficient cause is shown why the said Order
or Rule Nisi of Quo Warranto should not be made absolute ousting him from that office AND IT
IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Applicant be at liberty to issue and serve on the Trevor
Williams, holding the office of Director of Youth, a public office in the pensionable
establishment of the Public Service of Guyana, and which falls within the Ministry of Culture,
Youth and Sport, a sealed and certified copy of the Notice of Motion, with Affidavit in Support
of Notice of Motion, filed on the 8th day of June, 2015, together with a sealed and certified copy
of this Order of Court AND IT IS FURTHER ORDERED this matter do stand adjourned to the
17th day of June, 2015, at 1:30 pm, before the Honourable Chief Justice, Mr. Ian Chang.
BY THE COURT

FOR REGISTRAR
M E M O RAN D U M
If you the within named Trevor Williams, holding the office of Director of Youth, a public
office in the pensionable establishment of the Public Service of Guyana, and which falls within

the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, neglect to obey this Order you will be liable to process
of execution for the purpose of compelling you to obey the same Order.

2015-HC-DEM-CIV-MIN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE

CIVIL JURISDICTION
In the matter of an Application by SALEESHA GAFOOR for a Writ of Quo Warranto.
Applicant

NOTICE OF MOTION
TAKE NOTICE that this Honourable Court will be moved on the _____ day of June,
2015, in the forenoon or as soon thereafter as Counsel can be heard by MR. MOHABIR ANIL
NANDLALL, Attorney-at-Law on behalf of the Applicant for the following Orders:
(i)
an Order or Rule Nisi of Quo Warranto be directed to Trevor Williams, holding the office
of Director of Youth, a public office in the pensionable establishment of the Public Service of
Guyana, and which falls within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, to produce to this
Honourable Court a warrant of appointment and authority by which he holds the said office and
to show cause why the said Order or Rule Nisi Of Quo Warranto should not be made absolute
ousting him from that office;
(ii) a Writ of Quo Warranto be issued to Trevor Williams holding the office of Director of
Youth, a public office in the pensionable establishment of the Public Service of Guyana, and
which falls within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, to produce to this Honourable Court
a warrant of appointment and authority by which he holds the said office, ousting him from that
office;
(iii) costs;
(vi)

any further Order(s) or relief(s) as the Court may deem just.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that the grounds of this application are as follows:
(i)
that Trevor Williams is holding the office of Director of Youth, a public office in the
pensionable establishment of the Public Service of Guyana, and falls within the Ministry of
Culture, Youth and Sport, without lawful authority and without being appointed to that office
lawfully and in accordance with the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana;
(ii) that the office of Director of Youth must be filled by an appointment from the Public
Service Commission in accordance with Article 201 of the Constitution of Guyana;
(iii) that the said Trevor Williams has not been appointed to that office by the Public Service
Commission or anyone delegated by the Public Service Commission with the authority to do so;

(iv) that the said Trevor Williams is therefore a usurper and a trespasser in the office of
Director of Youth, a public office in the pensionable establishment of the Public Service of
Guyana, and which falls within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
This Notice of Motion was issued by MR. MOHABIR ANIL NANDLALL, MR.
EUCLIN GOMES & MR. MANOJ NARAYAN, Attorneys-at-Law for the Applicant, whose
address for service and place of business is at their Chambers, Mohabir A. Nandlall &
Associates, Bhagwati Chambers, 217 South Road, Lacytown, Georgetown, Demerara.

MOHABIR ANIL NANDLALL

Attorney-at-Law for the Applicant
Dated at Georgetown, Demerara
This

day of June, 2015

2015-HC-DEM-CIV-MIN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE
CIVIL JURISDICTION

In the matter of an Application by SALEESHA GAFOOR for a Writ of Quo Warranto.

Applicant

AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF NOTICE OF MOTION

I, SALEESHA GAFOOR, of 322 Hope East, East Coast Demerara, Guyana, being duly
sworn make oath and say as follows:
1.

I am the Applicant herein and the facts and matters hereinafter deposed are within my

personal knowledge save and except where otherwise stated.

2.

I am a citizen by birth of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

3.

I am twenty-six (26) years old and I am an Executive member of the Progressive Youth

Organization (PYO), one of the largest and oldest political organizations in Guyana representing
young people and youth welfare within the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.
4.

That I was a candidate on the Peoples Progressive Party List of Candidates on the list for

the General and Regional Election held on the 11th of May, 2015.
5.

That as a national youth leader, my interest and mandate is to ensure that youth welfare

and the interest of young people receive paramount consideration by the State.
6.

That my political work and activism coincide with the sentiments captured in, inter alia,

Articles 28 and 38(A), (B), (C) and (D) of the Constitution of Guyana.
7.

That I make this application with due bona fides and in the interest of young people of

Guyana and indeed in the publics interest.

8.

Article 1 of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana declares Guyana to be

a democratic sovereign State.

9.

Article 9 of the said Constitution vests sovereignty in the people who shall exercise it

through their representatives and the democratic organs established by or under the Constitution.
10.

I have a vested interest in ensuring that the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of

Guyana, the supreme law of this land by virtue of Article 8, is not violated.
11.

Indeed, I consider it my national duty to ensure that those representatives who, and the

democratic organs which, exercise the sovereignty of Guyana on my behalf act in due
compliance with the said Constitution and the law in the discharge of their public functions and
constitutional duties.

12.

I am aware that there is a Public Service of Guyana which discharges numerous statutory,

public law, constitutional and administrative functions within the State and Government
apparatus of Guyana.
13.

The Public Service Commission is an independent Constitutional Commission tasked with

the responsibility and power to make appointments to public offices within the Public Service
and to remove and to exercise disciplinary control over persons holding or acting in such offices.
14.

That the Office of Director is a public office on the pensionable establishment of the

Public Service of Guyana and falls within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
15.

In the job description issued by the Public Service Commission, the main function of this

office is to formulate and implement policies and programmes, designed to meet the
development needs of young people in Guyana.
16.

I therefore as a youth leader, have a deep and abiding interest in the functions and

qualifications of the holder of that office.

17.

In that said job description, the minimum qualifications, knowledge and experience listed

therein are:
A Masters Degree in Social Work from a recognized University PLUS a minimum of
five (5) years in Social Work, at least two 92) of which must be involved in youth work.
OR
A bachelors Degree in Social Work from a recognized University PLUS a minimum of
seven 97) years in Social Work, at least three (3) of which must be involved in youth work
Knowledge of and experience in using social research methods would be valuable.
I hereto attach and mark exhibit A a copy of the said job description, a public document.

18.

That by a Staff Vacancy Circular Number 1 of 2015, dated 23 rd of March, 2015, the Public

Service Commission advertised a list of vacancies in the Public Service and invited applications
to fill them. I hereto attach and mark exhibit B a copy of the said Staff Vacancy Circular
Number 1 of 2015, a public document.
19.

That at page six (6) of the said Circular under the Ministry of Youth and Sport, the position

of Director of Youth was listed as vacant.

20.

That in pursuance thereof, the Public Service Commission commenced interviews of

suitably qualified applicants to fill the said vacancy.

21.

That Trevor Williams neither applied, nor was interviewed by the Public Service

Commission.
22.

Additionally, I verily believe that the said Trevor Williams is not qualified to hold the

said office as per the job description issued by the Public Service Commission.
23.

That I read in the newspapers enjoying national daily circulation within the State of

Guyana that Trevor Williams was appointed to the position of Director of Youth, a public office
in the pensionable establishment of the Public Service of Guyana, and which falls within the
Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
24.

That I inquired from the Public Service Commission and was duly informed and do verily

believe that this appointment was not made by the Public Service Commission.
25.

That Article 201 of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana provides,

inter alia,
subject to the provision of this Constitution, the power to make appointments to public offices
and to remove and to exercise disciplinary control over persons holding or acting in such offices
shall vest in the Public Service Commission.

26.

That from enquiries I made from the Public Service Commission, I was duly informed and

do verily believe that the said Commission has not delegated the authority to make appointment
to the office of Director of Youth, a public office in the pensionable establishment of the Public
Service of Guyana, and falls within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, to any person or
authority.
27.

That Trevor Williams is occupying the said office and has commenced discharging

functions of the said office. I attach hereto and mark exhibit C an article published at page
eight (8) of the State owned Guyana Chronicle Newspaper of 8th June, 2015, under the captioned
Youth Director Explains Youth representation not limited to National Assembly the said
article quotes Trevor Williams a Director of Youth and displays a photograph of it.
28.

That Trevor Williamss appointment and functioning in that office is injurious to the

welfare of young people and indeed injurious to the national interest.

29.

I am advised by Mr. Mohabir Anil Nandlall, Attorney-at-Law, and do verily believe that:

(i)

the appointment of Trevor Williams to the office of Director of Youth, a public office in

the pensionable establishment of the Public Service of Guyana, and which falls within the
Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, is in violation of Article 201 of the Constitution of Guyana,
whimsically, arbitrary, capricious, unlawful, null, void and of no legal effect;
(ii)

the said Trevor Williams is a usurper and a trespasser in the office of Director of Youth, a

public office in the pensionable establishment of the Public Service of Guyana, and which falls
within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.

30.

In the circumstances, I humbly pray that the reliefs set out in Notice of Motion herein be

granted.

31.

That this Affidavit was drawn by Mr. Mohabir Anil Nandlall, Attorney-at-Law, upon my

instructions and on my behalf.

32.

I hereby authorize Mr. Mohabir Anil Nandlall, Mr. Euclin Gomes & Mr. Manoj

Narayan, Attorneys-at-Law, to be my Attorneys-at-Law in this cause and to do all acts and

things that may be necessary on my behalf and my address for service and place of business is at
their Chambers, Mohabir A. Nandlall & Associates, Bhagwati Chambers, 217 South Road,
Lacytown, Georgetown, Demerara.

SALEESHA GAFOOR
Sworn to at Georgetown, Demerara
This

day of June, 2015

BEFORE ME

A COMMISSIONER OF OATHS TO AFFIDAVITS

2015-HC-DEM-CIV-MIN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE

CIVIL JURISDICTION
In the matter of an Application by SALEESHA GAFOOR for a Writ of Quo Warranto.
Applicant

-----------------------------------------------------Notice of Motion and Affidavit in Support of Notice of Motion

------------------------------------------------------

MR. MOHABIR ANIL NANDLALL

MR. EUCLIN GOMES &
MR. MANOJ NARAYAN
ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW FOR THE APPLICANT