Yvonne Bussue called to the Bar
Basseterre, St. Kitts (CUOPM) – Declaring that her calling to the Bar of the High Court in St. Kitts, represents the “beginning of a new chapter of my life,” Yvonne Bussue told High Court Judge, Her Ladyship Justice Marlene Carter, officers of the courts, family and friends, that the journey had “been long and at times rough, but it has always been said that the harder the journey the sweeter the victory.”
After taking the oaths and the submission of her application by the Hon. Marcella Liburd and Mr. Anthony Johnson of Dublin and Johnson Chambers, Miss Bussue, who first attended the Irish Town Primary School followed by the Basseterre Junior High School, the Basseterre Senior High School and the Secretarial Division of the then St. Kitts Technical College, said with pride and honour “I stand before this Honourable Court as the newest member of the legal fraternity.”
“I am indeed grateful to your ladyship and this Honourable Court for accepting my application for admission to the bar. A debt of gratitude is owed to Mr. Anthony Johnson of Dublin & Johnson for proposing this application and for readily accepting the invitation to move my call. I would also like to thank him for his kind words,” she said.
Miss Bussue, who was also tutored by Mr. Washington Archibald, expressed heartfelt thanks to her mentor, the Hon. Marcella Liburd “for taking time of her hectic schedule to support my application to the bar.”
“I must thank her for answering my never ending questions from 1996 to present ….. the ultimate teacher. I also want to thank her for believing in me even when I did not believe in myself,” said Ms. Bussue, who proceeded to study law at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Barbados from 2009 to 2012.
She also expressed heartfelt thanks to Mr. Karlweis Liburd for accepting her as a member of the firm of Bryant & Liburd and the staff of Bryant & Liburd.
“I would like to thank my seniors for taking the time to appear today. I am eternally grateful for your presence,” she added.
Stating that “this is the day that the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in it,” Ms. Bussue who completed her legal training at the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, said that in celebrating her milestone, “it will be remiss of me not to acknowledge some of the innumerable debts that I have incurred along the way.”
“I would first like to thank the Almighty for His never-ending love. In Him and through Him all things are possible. I would like to thank my mother, Ms. Miriam Bussue for her love and support as I go through this journey called life. Thank you Mom. I would like to thank my father, Alfred Kelly for never expecting too much his refrain was ‘just do the best that you can.’ I would like to thank my sister and brothers (too numerous to mention) for their support throughout the years,” she said.
She also thanked her son Gavionne “for believing that his Mommy will one day remain with him full time instead of his initial thought that ‘Barbados had stolen his Mommy, his dad Gary and his grandmother Florence.”
“My aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins I say thank you for your support. A special thank you to Desiree whom I harassed to do my business religiously for five years, Mackie, who practiced the “crack house mentally” towards me and kept reminding me of the saying ‘heights of great men achieved and kept……………”, all the other friends and well wishers who encouraged me along the way,” said Ms. Bussue, who also thanked the staff of the High Court for their invaluable assistance throughout the years, her teachers, lecturers and tutors including renowned educator Mr. Washington Archibald and former attorney general, Dr. Dennis Merchant.
“These debts I know can never be repaid but in defending the rule of law and upholding my duties and responsibilities to all clients and the Court, I hope that they can somehow be erased,” Ms. Bussue concluded.
Minister of Health, Community and Social Development, Gender Affairs and Culture and a lawyer by profession is celebrating the success of Ms. Bussue.
She said Yvonne, who was born and raised in McKnight, was called to the Bar having successfully completed studies in law and obtained an LLB with Upper Second Class Honours and completed her Legal Education Certificate at Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica “with excellent grades.”
“You have made your family, friends and the entire McKnight community proud,” Ms. Liburd said in a FaceBook posting.