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Kitch's wife ordered out by Dec 31 Judge rules in 'Rainorama' dispute By Imran Ali, iali@trinidadexpress.com, Trinidad Express, Saturday, October 27th, 2007 |
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A High Court judge ruled yesterday that the wife and children of the late calypsonian Aldwyn Roberts, known as the Lord Kitchener, must hand over their Diego Martin home to the family of Roberts's mistress. Speaking to the Express, Roberts's wife, Valerie Green, said she was hurt by the decision, and said her family and the country may now be justified in saying that Kitchener was not only the Grand Master of calypso and soca, but of dishonesty and deceit. "These people don't know how Rainorama [Roberts's house at Diego Martin] came there. Is I have it so," Green said. She defiantly declared that she will not move out of the house, even though Justice Lennox Deyalsingh said she had to move out by the December 31. Her attorneys plan to appeal the judge's decision. Green and Kitchener became involved in 1970, due to his persistence she claimed, she worked with him both on stage as a dancer and off stage selling his records. He celebrated her in his music and she became famous for her trademark dances, and especially for her gyrations to the Carnival Road March-winner "Flagwoman". Kitchener's music also marked another milestone in their life together, as they moved from Champs Fleurs to 610 Diego Martin Main Road in the 1970s and he named their house "Rainorama" after a song of the same name that won the Road March title in 1973. They had four children, one of whom-Kernal Roberts-is now an accomplished music producer. However, Green was to be haunted by the lyrics of Kitchener's most popular hits "Sugar Bum Bum", in which he professed his weakness for a woman whom he called Audrey and sang: "Honey, like you give me voodoo... (I) give way meh land, give way meh car". In 1988, she transferred the Rainorama property to his name supposedly for business purposes, and a year later she and her children had to leave the house after they were evicted by Kitchener's mistress, Betsy Ann Howell-Pollard, to whom he had gifted Rainorama. Nine years later, with Howell-Pollard dead, Green and her children moved back into Rainorama. But Howell-Pollard had willed the Diego Martin property to her family, with Kitchener being given a life interest to remain in the house. When the calypsonian died in February 2000, Howell-Pollard's sisters moved again to evict Green and her children. They filed a court action, which eventually came up before Justice Deyalsingh in the Port of Spain High Court, and their attorneys argued three weeks ago that they are entitled to summary judgment. According to attorney Gregory Delzin, Green's case was that the transfer of the property from Kitchener to Howell-Pollard should be declared void because of Kitchener's dishonesty. Delzin argued that according to the law, the transfer must stand unless it was proven that Howell-Pollard knew of or was a party to the fraud on Green. Justice Deyalsingh said yesterday he agreed with Delzin's point. Cases are conducted on pleadings that are filed, he said, and those which Green's attorneys filed did not impute fraud on the part of Howell-Pollard. "(She) is an innocent third party to whatever fraud transpired and (her estate) therefore holds an indefeasible title (to the Rainorama property)," the judge stated. He suggested that whatever case Green and her children had should be against Kitchener's own estate. When she spoke to the Express, Green said she was saddened that Kitchener's children and the country now knew of his misdeeds. "I didn't want him to be remembered as anything else but a genius," she said. Attorney Faikah Carrmuddeen appeared with Delzin in the case, while Green was represented by attorneys Kerwyn Garcia and Annabelle Boynes. |