Rozel Di Leon Investment Ltd has defended the removal of occupants from parcels 3413 and 3414 at Friendship, East Bank Demerara, saying the operation carried out on March 17 was the lawful execution of a High Court order and not a sudden eviction as has been claimed publicly.In a statement, the company said it is the “sole and rightful owner” of the property, holding Certificates of Title No. 2022/129 and 2022/130, after lawfully purchasing the land from Elaine Adams, who had owned it under a previous transport. The company said it was granted vacant possession at the time of the sale and that persons occupying the land were notified before and after the transaction.The statement comes amid criticism from the political opposition, which described the removal of more than 50 families from the Friendship squatting area as a humanitarian concern and urged the government to intervene to provide housing solutions.But Rozel Di Leon Investment Ltd said the matter had already been fully ventilated in the courts. According to the company, in 2023, the New Friendship Farmers Cooperative Land Society, acting on behalf of occupants, filed legal proceedings seeking to have the company’s titles declared void on allegations of fraud. The company said it rejected those claims and filed a counterclaim for vacant possession.The company said that on September 25, 2024, Justice Peter Hugh dismissed the society’s application in its entirety, found no merit in the fraud allegations, and granted an order for vacant possession in favour of the company. It added that representatives of the society and their attorney were present in court when the ruling was made, and later gave an undertaking to vacate the property by January 31, 2025.According to the company, a copy of the court order was formally served on the society, making it clear that those occupying the land had known since September 2024 that they were legally required to leave.It said that after the undertaking was not honoured, the company sought to enforce the ruling, and on August 29, 2025, the High Court issued a further order authorising the Marshal of the Supreme Court to enter the property, remove those in occupation, and hand over vacant possession to the company. The company said the action taken on March 17, 2026, was in keeping with that order.Rozel Di Leon Investment Ltd also pushed back against several claims circulating in the aftermath of the removals. The company denied that occupants were given only seven days’ notice to vacate, saying the legal process lasted more than 18 months and that the order to vacate was granted in September 2024.It also rejected suggestions that company principal Leon Rutherford had been retained by the occupants to conduct a survey of the property, describing that claim as false. Additionally, the company dismissed accusations of “bullyism,” arguing that the enforcement of a Supreme Court order cannot be characterised that way, where due process was followed, and occupants were given substantial time to comply.“The allegation of fraud was fully examined and dismissed by a Judge of the High Court,” the company said, adding that the matter had already been adjudicated and the relevant orders executed.The company said it regretted that the enforcement exercise had been mischaracterised in the public domain, but maintained that the development marked the conclusion of a lengthy legal process aimed at restoring the rights of a property owner.
