President’s brother threatens opposition leader with legal action for “defamatory” comments

Last Updated on Monday, 17 August 2026, 22:58 by Writer

President Irfaan Ali’s brother on Monday threatened to file a defamation lawsuit against Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed for implicating him in the alleged award of more than GY$12 billion in contracts to the Bangladesh-headquartered Sigma Engineering Ltd. Inc.

“These baseless allegations must be withdrawn forthwith in the appropriate manner, failing which my client will take legal action as may be advised to protect his reputation, without further notice,” lawyer Kashir Khan told Mr Mohamed in a letter on behalf of his client, Mohamed Aqtar Ali.

But the Opposition Leader, when contacted by Demerara Waves Online News, said categorically that “I will not withdraw” his utterances. “I took an oath in Parliament to serve the people of this country without fear or favor. I will continue to do so,” he said.

The lawyer also told Mr Mohamed that Mr Aqtar Ali instructed him to state that any repetition or further publication of these statements, whether electronically or otherwise, to third parties — and the resulting responses online or elsewhere — only amplifies the defamatory nature of the utterances made in the video clip.

Sigma Engineering Ltd Inc, which is also registered in Guyana, earlier Tuesday said Mr Aqtar Ali has been engaged in a senior technical consultant capacity and “he has no affiliation with the company in Bangladesh.”

Sigma also said it would be taking legal action against Mr Mohamed.

The opposition leader did not immediately say whether he would retract the four utterances that Mr Ali deemed offensive.

“My client asserts that your statements about him in the video clip are calumnious, unsubstantiated and defamatory in their entirety,” the lawyer said.

Mr Khan said in the two-page letter to Mr Mohamed that the entire tone and tenor of the video clip and, in particular, the excerpts that were cited were intended to malign and impugn the character, honesty and integrity of his client and was calculated to create a false and misleading impression in the minds of right-thinking members of the Guyanese society of him and even further afield.

The lawyer said that had already been done based on the negative comments about his client online.

“For the record, my client is not a director or shareholder in any of the companies referenced in the video clip, nor has he ever been.”

The lawyer said the video was viewed 384,000 times and attracted more than 1,600 comments, many of which are negative.