Chief Justice (ag) Justice Rishi Persaud on Saturday afternoon dismissed an application by Attorney Darren Wade for his client Clairmont Mingo to be released from Police custody on the grounds that he has been charged by the Police and will appear in Court on Monday.
According to a statement from the Chambers of the Attorney General, Wade filed an urgent application at the High Court on Saturday for Mingo to be released from Police custody and the case was heard at 16:45h virtually.
It was reminded that Justice Persaud on Friday granted a 24-hour extension to the Police to keep Mingo in custody with certain conditions attached; that 24-hour expired at 14:30h on Saturday but prior to the expiration of that extension, the Police read four charges to Mingo.
“The police are ready to take Mr. Mingo to court and will do so on Monday. Due to these charges being read to Mr. Mingo it in effect caused the Order dated the 28th of August 2020, to be ‘spent’,” the statement from the Attorney General’s office noted.
According to the statement, “At the hearing, His Honour stated that the Order was spent the moment the charges were read to Mr. Mingo and that it is now within the realm of the Magistrate’s Court to deal with the matter.”
‘Spent’ in legal terms basically means that the order made by Judge on Friday expired and is no longer effective.
Wade and Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde appeared for Mingo at Saturday’s hearing.
The AG, Anil Nandlall explained to the Court that the Habeas Corpus Application was misconceived and it was wasting the Court’s time and effort.
“The Attorney General lamented that Attorneys-at-Law must advise themselves on the law and the facts before activating the Court’s process. He reminded the Court that only yesterday a similar misconceived Application was filed, which Mr. Wade, himself, conceded was of academic importance. However, the Court did not make any Orders in relation to costs.
“The Honourable Mr. Justice Rishi Persaud (Chief Justice ag.) dismissed the Application,” the statement from the AG’s office noted.
Mingo, who was the Returning Officer of Region Four during the March 2 polls, was arrested by the Police on Tuesday last at his Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara home in relation to electoral fraud.
Four of his assistants also remain in Police custody.
The embattled Mingo emerged as a key figure in the elections when a national recount of the votes proved that he inflated his figures in Guyana’s largest voting district to give the former APNU+AFC Government a victory at the polls.
Mingo’s actions led to a five-month delay in the declaration of the election results.