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Arresting Crime @Source

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In the Friday Nation newspaper of October 23, 2020 Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith AGAIN revealed to the public that “guns are still coming”. His comment comes in response to public concerns about gun crime. The COP remains adamant that although there has been a tightening of the security at the Barbados Port, unfortunately it has not arrested the problem. The blogmaster understands that a system is only as good as the integrity of the operators of said system. We also have other ports of entry where the security is questionable and there is the additional headache that Barbados is an island with many many areas that allow those willing to take the risk to land contraband. This is an enforcement issue BUT there is the systemic issue we have also failed as a society to even scratch the service..

Listen to the following exchange between Social Scientist Corey Layne and Community Practitioner and Veteran Journalist David Ellis from 4 minutes into the clip.

Veteran journalist David Ellis and Social Scientist Corey Layne

 

 

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236 responses to “Arresting Crime @Source”

  1. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    “Carson….Do you remember when they wanted to replace Billie Miller with an Indian? Watch out.”

    Wuh Carson musse canvass and wined and dined with the same Indian. This blog duz mek me laffffff.🤣🤣🤣🤣

  2. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    “CBP officers say the parcel manifested as auto parts was held for inspection after noticing anomalies during an e-ray on October 16.

    The shipment contained three handguns and seven magazines and was destined to an individual in Barbados. Officers say the weapons were being sent from a resident in North Carolina, and the serial numbers were filed off the weapons.”

  3. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    @ Enuff

    I remember when they replaced Anthony ‘Gabby’ Carter with an Indian named Abdul Pandor and Peter Barrow with a Syrian (or Lebanese) named Taan Abed.

    Enuff, is that the Indian you mean?

  4. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Another death tonight
    Man shot .yet we have Mia prancing up and down talking about lost decade
    At the rate murders are being committed in barbados one can bet that within the next year
    Mia would have to be accountable for a lost generation of youth who died at the hands of gun violence under her watch

  5. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    Said Pandor who got appointed to boards and was the consultant on the Wildey confusion. Not to mention https://www.barbadosadvocate.com/news/carson-cadogan-walks-away-top-award-contribution-community 🤣🤣🤣

  6. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    Be very careful, lest you’re accused by the ‘blog police’ of stalking CCC over social media

  7. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    To all the defenders of this govt
    Gun violence is killing off the youth mostly men in Barbados
    Can some one find the AG and let him know what is happening

  8. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    @Carson C CadoganOctober 24, 2020 7:59 AM “When are we going to help the police??? When are going pass to pass modern day laws and stop relying on antiquated laws?????Companies are taking things out of warehouses without the present of Customs Officers. When are we going to investigate the wealth of Custom Officers?????”

    We are going to do all this between 15 January 2008 to 24 May 2018.

  9. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Another embarrassing moment for govt as death rate keeps climbing
    What a shame

  10. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    All of sudden it gets real quite when fingers are being pointed at govt for their slower than molasses respond to crime and violence

  11. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    @Carson C CadoganOctober 24, 2020 12:41 PM “No boy on the block knows how to manufacture a range of guns and different calibers. They are buying form people who don’t look like us.”

    So what happens if the boys on the block stop buying guns from the gun importers?
    i mean nobody is forcing the “boys” hard back men really, to take their mney out of their pockets and put it into the hands of the gun importers.

  12. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    @Carson C CadoganOctober 24, 2020 1:55 PM “The reason you don’t see any of them in Dodds is because they BRIBE EVERYBODY. ”

    So who is forcing the bribe takers to take bribes?

    And what happens if the bribe takers refuse to take bribes?

  13. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Almost fifty murders and the AG is no where to be seen or heard
    What a ting doah

  14. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    John AOctober 24, 2020 5:16 PM

    Word on the street is that car engines and parts are how a lot of drugs, guns and ammo get smuggled in.

    Oh wait, remember that English fellow up in de country…..

    I gone…

  15. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    We’ve been hearing dlp people talk about Indians and “others” for a long time.

    Even Barrow would infamously leave a piece uh pork in the oven and K R Hunte at the Farm while he went to political meetings to talk bout race and White corporate behaviour.

    His organising principle, for the very people, was that they should not intefere with his politics and he will not interfere with their economics. He was influenced by the Singaporean Model.

    Twice since then White elite interests in Barbados have brought down dlp governments and that party is impotent to even sustain their own principle.

    We could remember well Don Blackman, circa 1986. Need we go on.

    All these years after the same old and tired canard is being raised by dlp yardfowls in relationship to an issue which is more about the mercantilism of violence than the political control and policing of the port.

    By the very dlp which has aided and abetted corrupt minorities, at the virtual exclusion of Black people, to control all facets of economy.

    And the blp is just as culpable.

    DLP yardfowls, whether in London or Bridgetown, should find some political scratch grain which is not located is so much shiiite.

  16. David Avatar
    David

    Rise in aggravated robberies

    By Colville Mounsey
    Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith is concerned about an uptick in aggravated robberies in recent weeks, noting much of it appears to be linked to the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Griffith told the Sunday Sun that up to four weeks ago, aggravated burglary statistics, especially those involving the use of a firearm, were well below 2019 numbers, but these have now caught up. He noted that with the Christmas season approaching, the problem was likely to be exacerbated, even though overall robberies numbers this year are still lower than last year’s.
    “In the last couple of weeks, we have noticed an uptick, I would say over the last four weeks or so there have been these increases and we expected this coming down to the latter quarter of the year. However, when you compare robberies with last year, at this time last year we had 166 robberies, but this year, we are at 139, which is a difference of 27 robberies and a 16 per cent drop,” the top cop said.
    “However, when you look at aggravated burglaries, which is people arming themselves and entering commercial and domestic premises, those numbers are now on par with what they were last year, which is 53. Earlier in the year, we were running a significantly less number, but now it has quickly evened up. So generally, we realise that over the last couple of weeks there have been some increases. The approaching Christmas season is likely to compound things, but it is something that we are gearing up for and we are increasing our efforts in that regard.”
    Captured on camera
    In recent weeks, the nation has watched the unfolding of a number of these armed robberies, which were captured on camera. One of the more notable was the daring robbery of the popular Roy Smith’s Shop in Silver Sands, during which two men held up workers at gunpoint. More recently, masked men held up the watchman at St Leonard’s Boys’ Secondary School, but failed in their attempt to make off with the school’s safe.
    Griffith said while there was no runaway crime as it related to these burglaries, the recent spikes were likely the social effects of the economic hardship brought on by the global health crisis.
    “There is no doubt that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic would have had a significant part to play. Actually, there are one or two criminals, when caught, who have attributed their actions to COVID. Just [last Wednesday], when the guys held up the watchman at the school, one of them told the guard that it was because of COVID. So, that is definitely a factor.”
    The Commissioner of Police also disclosed that with the wearing of face masks now common as a result of the coronavirus, police were presented with the challenge of trying to discern between individuals wearing face covering for health reasons and those wearing them to conceal their identity.
    “In looking at masks, we now have to try to make that distinction between the COVID mask and people wearing masks to commit offences. This is something that we are actively trying to do. Clearly, the fact that people can move around in masks that are related to COVID creates a difficulty in terms of identification.
    So it is something that we are watching and watching very closely because it is creating some additional headaches for us. However, we expect and want to people to wear their masks; we tend to see persons looking to commit crimes wearing masks that cover more of their face,” he said.

    Source: Nation

  17. David Avatar
    David

    Crown wants life sentence for gangster
    The Crown will ask for a life sentence in cases where “soldiers” kill in defence of their gang leaders.
    Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale on Friday called for Ryan Samuel to be given life in prison as he addressed Justice Randall Worrell in the No. 2 Supreme Court.
    “The Crown will certainly not stand idly by, and allow people to believe that they could terrorise Barbados. If he is feared – and I am talking about the now convicted man – to act as a soldier in defence of another man, as opposed to in defence of Barbados, then I hope that he is prepared to act like a true soldier and surrender his life for country,” Seale said.
    “If anyone thinks that he can be the leader of a gang and instruct other persons, whether there is a written or unwritten rule, that to interfere with the gang leader one of his so-called soldiers would defend him to the extent that they take the life of anybody who dares oppose him, I hope that they are ready and willing to surrender the rest of their natural life to the state. That is the type of sentence that the Crown would be asking for in these circumstances,” he said.
    Samuel, 39, of Grape Hill, St Lucy, was found guilty of manslaughter, by a ten to two verdict, last November in the killing of Charley Dume.
    Dume, 25, was shot seven times at Coyote’s Den Bar at the corner of Nelson and Wellington Streets, The City on April 26, 2014, and died as a result of multiple organ failure and haemorrhagic shock due to gunshot wounds.
    Seale said gang violence not only impacted the deceased’s family, but Barbados as a whole, and if the wrong signal is sent to would-be soldiers and gang leaders that they could rain terror on Barbados, that was definitely the wrong direction.
    “A court must abhor any semblance of gang activity in Barbados and should send the strongest signal to indicate its abhorrence.”
    Most heinous crime
    Describing the matter as one of the most heinous crimes he had ever prosecuted, Seale said: “They go into a bar in Nelson Street and demand certain things from the proprietor and his shop assistant. A disagreement over a pack of nuts, chips and alcohol, and the so-called leader is bold enough to tell the proprietor to ‘give him $1 000’ over something that costs, I think, $2.
    “That is arrogance . . . and it is the type of conduct we see emerging from these young so-called drug dealers or gang leaders. This conduct must be wrestled to the ground. This conduct must be challenged as early as possible, lest Barbados finds itself in a situation like Trinidad and Tobago, where Dole Chadee felt that because a family had wronged him, he could say, ‘Kill all them’ and [his soldiers] would slavishly follow his instructions and kill an entire family.”
    Seale said the pre-sentencing report on Samuel, a father of four, was even more striking as he appeared to see nothing wrong with his conduct and would “gladly re-engage in the use of illegal substances and alcohol”.
    Defence attorney Mohia Ma’at is scheduled to respond to Seale’s submissions on November 6. (RA)

    Source: Nation

  18. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    I am sure you all remember when a WHITE WOMAN went ‘missing’ in Barbados in the not too distant past. Don’t tell me that your memory is so short.

    The Army
    Royal Barbados Police Force
    Boy Scouts
    Girl Scouts
    Government Guards
    Every WHITE BAJAN
    Heart and Stroke foundation
    Drones were used
    Shot guns were used
    A watchman was harassed by WHITE MEN BEARS GUNS
    Red cross Association

    All of these organizations were trying to find a ”missing ” WHITE WOMAN”’. I have never seen such a thing in my life in Barbados to this day. I was flabbergasted.

    We have had BLACK people missing in Barbados and I have never seen the kind of effort put in as was used to find this ”missing” WHITE WOMAN. Some of these people are missing up to TODAY. But you know what, these people are BLACK PEOPLE. SO DOES IT REALLY MATTER???

    They are disposable.

    The big joke was, the ”MISSING WHITE WOMAN” WAS NOT REALLY ”missing” at all. Let ”ÉNUFF” OR ”CUDDEAR BAJE” OR ”TRON” OR ”JOHN 2” OR ”JOHN A” tell you what happen.

    In fact I will say it . She was not ”MISSING” AT all. But this Herculean effort was used in the biggest manhunt or I say WOMAN HUNT in the History of Barbados to find this ”MISSING WHITE WOMAN’. A large number of Drones were used. All in an effort to find a woman who as it turned out much to their embarrassment was not missing at all.

    So that showed who is most important in Barbados. The 3% WHITE BAJAN AND INDIANS OR 97% BLACK POPULATION. This kind of effort was never used to find Black people who go REALLY GO MISSING some to today.

    And there in lies the problem of CRIME in Barbados.

  19. Carson C Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C Cadogan

    I forgot a large number of dogs were used.

    Sorry to the dogs, you helped in the search too.

  20. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Carson

    Do you remember the Indian woman who claimed she was kidnapped and taken to an ATM and robbed? What about the white lawyer and his son who beat up a black boy for walking in their neighbourhood? Or the Goons who invaded the black woman’s boutique in Speightstown and dumped rubbish in the shop because a bag with the store’s name was found on their property?
    What I cannot understand is if these boys on the block have access to all these guns why do they allow their own people to be so badly treated?

  21. David Avatar
    David

    Steuspe

  22. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    HAL

    You are not supposed to talk about all these things.

    Even the BLOG MASTER WHO IS BLACK upset.

  23. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @Carson

    Is the blogmaster black? Do you mean skin colour or his head and heart? @Carson, here is a test: by identification, note and analyse the contributions of older people and the young? Or better, read the contributions and guess which demographic they come under. It is a great challenge.

  24. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    We see that Rihanna and Beyonce are openly supporting demonstrations in Nigeria against police violence and corruption.

    When this comes to Barbados, like it must, how then will the political elites could explain the relationships between their deployment and weaponization of celebrity and the vicious consolidation of wealth which gives birth to more police violence and feeds demand by citizens to join an irrational arms race.

  25. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Hal
    Anybody who feels that boys on de block bringing in guns needs to ask who financing them cause in my opinion I don’t feel international contacts is get set up just so.
    De problem is that crime in de country is like everything else a political issue.
    Now we had people on BU prior to election saying that 18 murders were too many . Now in the last two years we probably have about 75. Everyday prior to elections they wanted Brathwaite head and the country was a “ cesspool” of crime. Today the same people saying that Marshall don’t shoot nobody. Quite frankly the Blogmaster has no moral grounds on this issue because he was apparently not seeing so clearly back then.
    So we all know that bringing back the former COP was political. Nobody knows what he does. Now we have Bertie Hinds saying that politics is rampant within law enforcement. Don’t forget the nonsense with Guyston Mayers( I hope I have the correct name). He messed up appointments etc.
    These Bees and Dees think we are all stupid. All like now Marshall should be warming the back bench. He’s a failed AG no different from Brathwaite. Same crap different day.
    BTW when will the drug case with the GEL luxury yacht going be called? Oh, I forgot , we have to deal with that big case involving the young boy who was / is the General secretary of the DLP.
    Peace.

  26. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    Unlike you and your ilk this blogmaster does not profess to be perfect and all knowing. Here is what the blogmaster has done despite the biase.

    BU posted a Murder Tracker in the BU sidebar to ensure tension on the matter of violence crime.

    BU joined with Amit and Caribbeansignal.com to communicate details about murders on a monthly basis in then last 2 years or so.

    At least once a month BU features a blog about crime and related issues.

    It does not matter if you perceive a biase in the blogmaster, judge by his fruit.

    By the way, there is nothing that prevents you, retired journalists from writing on the matter along with flapping your dentures.

  27. David Avatar
    David

    The blogmaster posted this blog with an insightful exchange between David Ellis and Corey Layne and many of you gravitate to the symptom.

  28. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ William

    Let us deal with Kemar Stuart first. The young man was silly to indulge in illegal substances, even if apologists talk about marijuana not being as bad as alcohol.
    I am an old man and have never used any illegal substances in my life. So, we can live without marijuana or pot or a spliff or whatever you want to call it.
    What is important, and no one is speaking of this, not even the DLP high command, is if Kemar was arrested in October last year, as is claimed, why has it taken so long to bring him before the courts?
    Was the attorney general made aware of his arrest? Was the prime minister informed of his arrest? Why is he now before the courts when there is a by-election, one in which the president has invested a lot of emotion and political capital?
    Was he set up? Why is Verla silent on this matter? There is a whiff of nastiness about this case. My political nose tells me that the president is very strategic in her politics. She may not like policy, but she is very keen on Machiavelli.

  29. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    David

    We appreciate your interest in this subject. However, the definition must be updated.

    Indeed, all forms of violence must now be considered not just the kind normally associated with poor people but the violence committed against the impoverished.

    We must also revisit the notion of whether the state should have exclusivity, monopoly.

  30. David Avatar
    David

    @Pacha

    Agree with you- we know white collar crime exist however without whistleblowing it is most difficult to make headway.

  31. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ David
    I have written on crime. I will reproduce the articles. I am certain that at least one appeared in BU.
    It’s not my fault that you were one sided on almost all issues prior to Elections 2018. Like you, I have a right to “call them as I see them.”
    You were told that nobody planta corn and reaps okra. Bashment was encouraged and promoted on BU on the grounds that it was democracy.
    That’s why the so-called political class gets away with murder.
    We seem to be all running with the hare and hunting with the hound.
    Peace.

  32. Carson C Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C Cadogan

    HAL

    You hit the nail on the eye again. I getting tired telling you so.

    Is it being said that he was arrested Last year and nothing was done????, but now a bye election due in SGN it miraculously appears????

    What about the INDIANS who have boasted that the Police cant do them anything??? Has the case against them has been called to this day?????

    Just asking!!!!!!!

  33. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    David

    Please. There is no need for socalled whistleblowers when there is a murder or robbery.

    Forensics can be deployed with precision.

    Separately, there are some suggesting a right to use legitamate violence against the state itself. The state using all forms of violence against the people.

    Such a right is far more fundamental than bulling or smoking janga, no?

  34. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    If the Laws of the Land were updated AND ENFORCED , and stop using these antiquated Laws which befit certain races in the minority we would catch a lot of people.

    In stead of sitting waiting for ”whistleblowers”.

  35. David Avatar
    David

    @Pacha

    The earlier response was framed from the perspective of BU becoming active and relevant in the new space you rightfully have highlighted.

  36. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Carson

    I am told with authority that he was arrested in October last year. The mystery is why the DLP high command is not protesting.

  37. Carson C Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C Cadogan

    The DLP is just like the BLP, in somebody, I wont say who, pocket.
    Which is sad because the most forward thinking Legislation passed in this country for Black people was passed by the DLP.

  38. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    David
    Given.

  39. WilliamSkinner Avatar
    WilliamSkinner

    @ Hal
    These interlocking legal and political associations are extremely well oiled and functioning. Kemar would be nothing more than a sacrificial lamb.
    On another note, I am waiting to see how the candidates other than the BLPDLP perform in SGN. This may be not a big thing to some but a relatively good showing will be very interesting.
    Note, I just read that COW’s biography is out. In one quote from it he said that he was once called a Barrow man by Tom and then he was called a Tom man by Barrow. Sounds familiar. Well quite recently Maloney was called a Stuart man by Mottley and now he’s being called a Mottley man by Stuart.
    @ WARU really knows these frauds masquerading as leaders. Always remember that Richie they said , never cared about poor people; was a snob and power hungry. He still got a Knighthood……..
    Interlocking associations my Brother.
    Peace.

  40. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    HAL

    You remember “”Eversley”” from BOCFA in England I think he was?

    If memory serves me well he either died this year or last year and was buried in Barbados???

  41. Carson C Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C Cadogan

    ”Maloney was called a Stuart man by Mottley and now he’s being called a Mottley man by Stuart.”

    ha,ha,ha.

    A white Bajan friend once told when I asked him who he votes for, he told me his party is always in power. We had a good laugh. That said it all.

    You ever noticed that white companies always get no bid contracts worth millions of no matter who forms the Govt.????

  42. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Carson

    I remember him well, one of two popular deputy commissioners to the UK. May he rest in peace.

  43. lawson Avatar
    lawson

    just throwing this out there, but it would seem to me if white bajans and indians were selling all the guns to the blacks wouldnt it make their safety less secure.???? being only 3 percent of the population but with all the money as you fellas have told me.
    Carson something did strike me about your posts ..they seem kind of racist, they seemed kind of jealous i wasnt sure what it was I couldnt put my finger on it but it was somehow familiar …then I saw it….. my cat on the ledge trying to lick its own arsehole.

  44. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    I really don’t understand the fixation of some with the Kemar Stuart case. To me it is not that big a deal given the Throne Speech. This attempt to paint it as politically motivated appears to be pure malice. The know-it-all from London is boasting that he was “told with authority” when the young man was arrested as if it is some scoop. According to the 23 October edition of Barbados Today:
    “Less than two weeks ago, the 25-year-old appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court charged with possession of a quantity of marijuana. Stuart had already pleaded not guilty to the matter that originated in October 2018.” The man had already pleaded guilty, which means the latest appearance was not his first.🤣🤣
    What is interesting is that when Verla first spoke the issue and said the party would not hang Stuart out to dry, they had already met and asked for his resignation according to the same article.

  45. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    He was from a generation in England who was and their children and grandchildren abandoned by politicians and Academics in the Caribbean to this day.

    They never interceded on their behalf on any issue.

    To this day they don’t say a good word for these people. Even though they are their decedents. These people long to come back home but no provision has been made for them. Even though they consider Barbados and the Caribbean their HOME.

    So sad!!!!!

  46. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Oct 13, 2020

    General secretary of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Kemar Stuart is facing an illegal drug charge.

    Stuart, recently elected to the post at the DLP’s annual conference, appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court last week for possession of a quantity of marijuana. He was represented by former DLP minister of housing Michael Lashley QC.

    When Barbados TODAY contacted DLP president Verla De Peiza on the matter she made it clear that the party would not be leaving Stuart “out to dry”. Stuart is also president of the Young Democrats. Efforts to reach him tonight were unsuccessful. However, De Peiza referred to the development as unfortunate.

    “He is a young man. He’s not the first neither will he be the last young person to encounter challenges with marijuana possession. The tone and content of the Throne Speech suggest in any event that the entire country’s focus is diverted from matters of this nature to the point where it is surprising that this is noteworthy for the media,” she told Barbados TODAY tonight.

    De Peiza went on to assure the 25-year-old of her party’s support. She said: “Many families face similar situations. He is a member of the Democratic Labour Party family and has proven to be an asset to it. The only difference is that this is a political family and therefore political decisions will have to be made.”

    Sources told this newspaper that members of the DLP’s council met tonight around 7 o’clock for just over two hours to discuss Stuart’s future as general secretary of the party. But no information regarding the decision made was forthcoming. “I cannot say yet. Respecting the man,” De Peiza responded when quizzed as to the young political hopeful’s future as the general secretary.

    Stuart first came to national attention during the 2018 General Election, when on a Solutions Barbados ticket, he ran against the new Prime Minister Mia Mottley in the St Michael North East riding.

    He officially joined the membership of the Dems in late 2018. (Quote)

    October 23, 2020
    Less than a month after being elected, young politician Kemar Stuart has been suspended as General Secretary of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) and as President of its Youth Arm, pending the outcome of a marijuana possession charge against him

    Well-placed sources have revealed that Damien Griffith who was defeated by Stuart in the party’s internal election last month is now acting General Secretary and Vice President of the Young Dems, Shaquani Hunte will act in his stead.

    Less than two weeks ago, the 25-year-old appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court charged with possession of a quantity of marijuana. Stuart had already pleaded not guilty to the matter that originated in October 2018.

    When the matter was initially reported by this newspaper on October 13, DLP President Verla DePeiza promised that Stuart would not be left “out to dry” by the party.

    Barbados TODAY however understands that shortly after the news broke, Stuart was asked to resign. According to sources, when he refused, an emergency meeting of the executive council was called on October 12.

    They [sources] explained that the party’s constitution does not address the issue of executive members facing criminal charges. Consequently, the council created a new rule based on article 33 of the DLP’s Members’ Passbook, which facilitates the creation of new rules to address matters not covered in the constitution.

    Barbados TODAY has learned that despite efforts reportedly made by Stuart to convince his comrades that he should be treated as innocent unless otherwise proven in court, he was issued with a letter on October 14 sending him on leave as General Secretary and President of the Youth Arm.

    Sources confirmed that Damien Griffith was chosen as Stuart’s replacement because he amassed the third highest number of votes for General Secretary at the party’s internal elections last month. Henderson Williams, who garnered the second-highest number, was not considered for the post because he is currently serving as party treasurer. It is however unclear why Deputy General Secretary Pedro Shepherd has not assumed the role.

    “We have said all that we have to say on that issue. We don’t have anything more to share with the media,” DePeiza told Barbados TODAY when pressed about the developments.

    When contacted, Stuart declined to comment on the matter.

    The decision to suspend him from the two positions has cast a shadow over his term because by the time of his next court appearance in March 2021, half of his tenure would have already expired. It has also reportedly raised concerns among some in the party who believe that Stuart has been treated differently than other more senior members who have faced similar situations.

    The quantity of marijuana allegedly in Stuart’s possession was not specified on the police charge sheet and he is neither accused of having intent to supply or trafficking the illegal drug.

    Late last week, party member and former Member of Parliament Hamilton Lashley in his analysis of the situation suggested that there was “more in the mortar than the pestle”. He also warned party leaders against hurting Stuart’s political career by imposing punitive measures prior to an official court decision.

    “I think a lot of it is politically motivated too. I want to know why is this happening at this time when there is a by-election happening in St George North? He lives in St George North also, so I want to know if there is more in the mortar than the pestle.”

    The developments are unfolding even as the Prime Minister Mia Mottley administration moves to amend the Drug Abuse Act. Under the amendments, citizens will no longer be criminally charged with possession of 14 grammes of cannabis or less.

    Other party members who requested anonymity pointed to former Speaker of the House of Assembly, attorney-at-law Michael Carrington who was allowed to continue serving under a DLP administration after being dragged before the Supreme Court for withholding client funds.

    Others recalled DLP President Verla DePeiza’s promise to back former Commerce Minister Donville Inniss when he was first charged with money laundering in the United States of America in 2018.

    “It has not yet been ventilated by any court I am aware of, and up until such time as that happens, he remains in my eyes, in the party’s eyes, and should also in the public’s eyes, innocent until proven guilty,” DePeiza said at the time…(Quote)

  47. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @Carson

    I know. Not even their children and grand children. I know children now in their 60s who still curse their parents for going off to the UK and leaving them. They do not think of the remittances, nor of the racial abuse they saved them from, nor the lives they lived in the cold.
    @Carson, it is one reason why I do not care a bit about the brutal buffoons – academics, politicians, professionals, all of them. When I say they know nothing about black people in the UK, you have hit on one good angle.
    Contemptible people pretending to dislike their own kith and kin. A nation of fools.

  48. David Avatar
    David

    @Enuff

    You are suggesting a proactive DLP hierarchy should have nipped this on the bud by the elders in party using suasion to stop Stuart from running the GS position?

  49. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Enuff
    Kemar Stuart problem pales insignificant to the many males who are dying at the hands of gun violence on barbados streets
    Rather than being fixated.on the high level of gun violence you are concerned about an internal problem of the dlp which verla already has taken care of
    Are u not at least a bit concerned about the gun violence in barbados and why is it that a govt who promised to tackle crime and violence has failed miserably in doing so
    Walking the streets of barbados is putting the people at high risk even a risk higher than COVID
    Why isnt the PM and AG silent on the issue
    Every occasion Mia gets before a microphone her one trick pony of the last decade she beats to the ground
    Meanwhile people are cowering in fear and seeking answers
    What a dam shame

  50. Carson C Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C Cadogan

    HAL 8.27 AM

    A real shame.

    Something we should not be proud of. You wont believe that there is a habit in Barbados of calling these unfortunate people ”MAD”. People who we should have helped and still help.

    Oh, but they love BAJAN AMERICANS, because they send home LOTS MORE MONEY. But when they return, that is a different story.

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