Advertisement 278
Advertisement 323
Armed robbery
Advertisement 219

The main opposition New Democratic Party, on Tuesday, said that last Saturday’s armed robbery of the wife of a minister of government outside her home shows the pervasiveness of crime in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

“The recent incident on Saturday 15th September, when Dr. Reisha Twana Browne-Caesar, wife of Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable Saboto Caesar and consultant nephrologist at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, was robbed at knife-point as she was exiting her car at her home at Cedars in the South Windward area brought the crisis forcefully to the fore. No one is safe,” the NDP said in a press statement.

The party noted that the minister’s wife was robbed at the end of a week when the body of Yolande McMaster, a 47-year-old domestic of Lower Questelles, was found under a sheet of galvanise in her South Leeward Community.

Police said, on Monday, that an autopsy concluded that she died of “unnatural causes”, taking the homicide count for 2018 to 24.

Media reports say that McMaster was raped and died of blunt force trauma.

Advertisement 21

“Our beautiful homeland, St Vincent and the Grenadines, continues to beckon for help in the face of the seemingly uncontrolled crime wave that is ever-spawning,” the NDP said.

The party said the “high murder rates that have been visited upon St Vincent and the Grenadines under the reign of the Gonsalves-led, ULP administration, has unfortunately not been matched by a professional, scientific analysis of the problem.

“Instead, what we have is a significant attempt at downplaying the fearful impact that the crime wave continues to wreak on the nation. Clearly, Dr. Gonsalves and the ULP have lost touch with the reality of Vincentian people’s lives.”

The NDP said Vincentians are “being treated to the wanton disrespectful dismissal of their fears as basic ‘scare mongering’ and ‘spreading fear and alarm’ and a dismissal of 24 recorded murders in SVG as ‘episodic’.”

The party reminded the nation of its call for the Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Ralph Gonsalves, to “formally address the nation on government’s plans to deal with the worsening crime situation in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

“He does not yet understand that crime and violence are not inevitable consequences of development. In any event, he has not produced the promised war on crime and the causes of crime just as he has failed to introduce integrity legislation, to say nothing of the creation of a consultative democracy.”

The NDP said:

“St. Vincent and the Grenadines remains a blessed country. Evidence of this is our resilience to the vagaries of misdirected governance, high unemployment and underemployment and political demagoguery under an authoritarian leadership that dares to parade itself as democratic.

“The NDP does not expect the Minister of National Security to respond to our call anytime soon and so we continue to urge the Vincentian public to remain as vigilant as they have been resilient. It is only through strong, united, caring communities can we address this crisis of crime and violence in SVG.

“The NDP reiterate their willingness to work with the government and other organizations to address the problem. It is only collaborative, united and caring communities that will enable us to succeed in combating the national crisis of crime and violence in SVG.

“We again implore anyone with information that might assist the police in their investigations to provide it to the police and we call on the police to redouble their efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice, and to resolve other unsolved violent crimes in our country.”

On Monday, the NDP issued a statement condemning the crime against the minister’s wife.

Speaking on radio on Tuesday, NDP president and Leader of the Opposition, Godwin Friday, noted the impact of the crime of against the minister’s wife.

“It does bring it home closer. We say, oh yes it is just another person and so on. That is true. But it is the wife of a minister and in our society that would even get more profiled.”

6 replies on “Robbery of Minister’s wife shows ‘no one is safe’ — NDP”

  1. Politics again….

    We know that there is a crime situation but please stop using the Doctor’s case to score political points.

    The leaders need to come off their high horses and work together and stop playing political football with this matter.

    PM- meet with the Leader of the Opposition, even if it means him taking the Oath of Secrecy!!!

  2. Vincy lawyer let’s supposed you are a bona-fide description of who you said you are. Lets also supposed that you have a client who confided in you that he committed a capital murder. I am aware of client solicitor privilege. Would you defend that client or would you do what most of your friends do defend him and even let him walk ?

    Another question would our society be better or worse off when a person who is guilty of a crime is let off and does not serve the time for which he is committed but exonerated ? Just another question, any reason why you choose not to reveal your identity? Is there a compelling reason why you choose to be anonymous?

    1. Dear Amos,

      To respond:

      1. The code of ethics clearly elucidates how Counsel may deal with the scenario you gave. For personal reasons in excess of 9 yeas, I have steered clear of any criminal matters so I won’t have this predicament to ever worry about. My areas of practice and specialization have long exhausted criminal courts. However, I keep myself abreast of this area of law, which is why I can respond on forums such as this one.

      PS: A defence counsel’s job once retained is to defend his client to the best of his abilities within the perimeters of the law and our ethics code. I cannot speak too or address your assertion that “…most of my friends defend a client and let them walk…” If the court or jury believes the defence and the defendant is acquitted, how has the defence counsel erred? Personally, I believe he has done his/her job. You, me or others may not like it, but that’s his/her job.

      2. I believe in the presumption of innocence. Therefore, I have always been an advocate quite publicly in my “real name” for justice. I believe that ‘justice must not only be done, but also to be seen as done.’ Secondly, your definition of guilt and mine may be different. Was the person charged and tried? If the magistrate or jury acquits the person, then by definition the person is not guilty of the crime. I will add, cases are not tried in the courts of public opinion but are actually tried in the court that has the jurisdiction.

      3. I am a bona-fide lawyer with many years of experiences in various fields of law. I am Vincentian by birth. Several persons know my true identity. My convictions have never waivered over the years and I was approached on several occasions based on my responses and my writing style etc. Dependent on who enquired, I chose to either confirm or deny my identity. Also, it is noteworthy that where in doubt, I will consult with Senior practitioners et al to ensure my responses are legally sound before posting.

      Therefore, presently, IWN does not mandate that I use my real name or reveal my identity. Therefore, I maintain my right to use my chosen online name for postings. The only compelling reason I need is freedom to continue to respond truthfully and legally sound- albeit anonymously. IWN reserves the right to choose whether they publish my comments or not.

      Oh, and as touting is also unethical, I can do without the unnecessary inquires or randomness.

      Sincerely,
      Vincy Lawyer

  3. Vince lawyer, i concurred as your friends would say. However, you and I know the law must not only be done but must be seen to be done. Howe ver, oftentimes, miscarriage of justice happens, you would agree with me or not ?That is,why some lawyers are not proponents of capital punishment, given that the wrong person may be executed innocently.

    In St Vincent I believe if we had the death penalty a lot of gun related crimes will not happen. I believe society would he better of if people like Lovelace who was was sentenced to be hang for the murder of the girl or child nanton should be hanged long time ago. If too much time is passed by the legal maneuver to save his life , I fear he would walk or the death sentence will be commuted.

    1. Point of correction: The death penalty has never been removed from the laws in SVG.

      Its never enforced because of appeals to the Privy Council who quash such sentences. Go and read the said appeals and hear why the sentences to hang were quashed. You may be surprised or maybe you wont be!

Comments closed.