st. kitts

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Deputy Leader of the St. Kitts and Nevis Labour Party Hon. Marcella Liburd has lashed out at Prime Minister

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Deputy Leader of the St. Kitts and Nevis Labour Party Hon. Marcella Liburd has lashed out at Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris and his Cabinet for hosting a Parliamentary sitting grounded on trickery.

Liburd indicated that yesterday’s Parliamentary session, February 20, was designed to keep the opposition from speaking.

The order paper for Wednesday’s sitting of Parliament stated that the item up for discussion was the creation of a “Commissioner of Prisons” position but the agenda was changed at the start of the House.

The proceeding was dotted with speeches from the government side but none from the opposition.

Pandemonium in Court; magistrate and prosecution at odds

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St. Kitts and Nevis Magistrate Court is in turmoil after Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mr. Valston Graham stopped his staff from appearing before Magistrate Donna Harris, a sister of St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris.

The incident has seemingly underscored strained relations between members of the legal fraternity and the magistrate, spanning years.

According to an eyewitness, the matters on Monday morning, February 4, escalated when Magistrate Donna Harris instructed five co-accused who were appearing before the Court for the first time to plead.

However, this procedure is wrong since these were indictable matters.

Crown Counsel Mr. Teshaun Vasquez tried on several occasions to bring this to the attention of Magistrate Harris, but she refused to hear him.

Harris ordered Vasquez to sit and eventually ordered him to leave her court room.

It was reported that DPP Graham after receiving a report of the matter made the decision that the Crown Counsel’s ejection was unlawful and therefore no prosecutor or court orderly will attend Magistrate Harris’ Court until further notice.

It is understood that DPP Graham has written to acting senior magistrate Reynold Benjamin requesting an urgent meeting to have the matter ventilated.

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One of the two men shot and injured in the New Year’s Day (January 1, 2019) shooting incident in Nevis has succumbed to his injuries.

According to a reliable source 28-year-old Jelani Liburd of Craddock Road, Nevis, died at the Alexandra Hospital on Government Road, Charlestown around 1 p.m. Tuesday, January 22.

Liburd and 22-year-old Keon Moore of Bath Plain were attacked by unknown assailants while in a motor car on Stoney Grove.

Moore and Liburd had sustained gunshot injuries about their bodies after they were attacked by unknown assailants while seated in a car.

The matter is now being treated as the first murder for St. Kitts and Nevis for 2019.

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First illegal firearm confiscated for 2019

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The Police have confiscated an illegal firearm and two persons have been arrested in relation to the find as the security forces continue in their fight to rid the streets of the dangerous contraband.

The discovery was made on January 19.

In press release issued on Sunday, January 20, the Police reported “one Smith and Wesson pistol with five (5) rounds of ammunition was found in a vehicle along Victoria Road during an early morning search operation.”

No update has been given as yet as whether the two individuals have been charged.
Almost 40 illegal firearms were confiscated by the Police in 2018.

Despite the regular firearm finds, there have been increasing public concerns over the alarming rates of gun related crime and violence in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Last Saturday’s find was the first reported illegal firearm confiscation for 2019.

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High Court Judge orders government to pay over EC$60,000 to ex-LIME worker for wrongful arrest

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, November 29, 2018 – One of two men, who were employees of telecommunications provider LIME at the time of their wrongful arrest, has been awarded over EC$60,000 by a High Court Judge.

Her Ladyship Justice Pearletta Lanns handed down her ruling on November 15 in the civil suit brought against the Attorney General by Sylvester Anthony Law Firm on behalf of Romero Bowers.

Justice Lanns ordered the Government to pay Bowers, EC$15,000 for Assault and Battery; EC$6,000 for Unlawful Search; EC$10,000 for Unlawful Arrest and False Imprisonment; EC$20,000 for Aggravated Damages and EC$10,000 for Compensatory Damages (for defamation), a total of EC$61,000.

The Government was also ordered to pay prescribed costs to his lawyers.

The two men were arrested by police on August 25, 2015 in what was said to be a joint intelligence-led operation carried out by members of the SSU, Drug Squad, SIU and Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise Department.

One of the two LIME employees went into a local courier to collect a package and when his co-worker returned to pick him up with the package, they were both by police and handcuffed.

Photos and video recordings of the men in handcuffs and in the back of a police vehicle went viral causing embarrassment to the men and their families.

A search of the package of the ex-Lime worker did not contain drugs.

The person who another package was addressed to was later held for the drugs which had an estimated wholesale value of EC$56,060 and a street value of EC$168,180. The person arrested has been charged but the case has not been called.