Activist Kenson King has been slapped with three charges alleging that he uttered seditious words in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
King, 33, of Park Hill, was arrested on Friday morning and the charges against him were laid later that day.
His lawyer, Kay Bacchus-Baptiste, told iWitness News, on Saturday, that her client remained in custody and police have said that he would not be granted bail ahead of his court appearance on Monday.
The lawyer said that her client had been charged that on Dec. 19, 2021, in SVG, he did utter seditious words, to wit:
— “Yo see you Mrs. Medford, you should be afraid to come out of your house right now, they playing with alyo Vincentian, they are playing with alyo, me alone can’t do it. Me alone ain’t do it because if it left to me alone and I could get what is needed. I know by today they could have been looking to pull back them stuff dey. All like Sister Medford ah them need to just disappear”.
— “Alyo should have the foundation ah St. Vincent shaking right now and ah them wondering what’s next. Some serious anarchy should be happening in St. Vincent until we have proper decent people running SVG in the form of Dr. Friday and his team”.
—”There is no longer any peace in St. Vincent. This is war eh. This right now is war. We are in a war and in a war, there are casualties. We need to make some casualties, one way or the other because there are already casualties on our side. There are already casualties on our side, moles? Stamp out the moles ah them too”.
Police are alleging that King made the statements, contrary to Section 53(1)(b) of the Criminal Code, Chapter 171 of the Revised Edition of the Laws of SVG, 2009.
Bacchus-Batiste told iWitness News around 7:50 a.m. on Saturday that her client had not been granted station bail.
“My call to Colin was met by the words ‘Don’t call my phone girl’ and he hung up on me,” Bacchus-Baptiste said, referring to Commissioner of Police Colin John, a lawyer and former assistant director of public prosecutions.
She said that she had Ronnia Durham, her junior on case, call the police chief.
“And he told her, ‘Kenson King will remain in custody until Monday’,” Bacchus-Baptiste told iWitness News.
“This is clearly vindictive and [an] abuse of Kenson’s right to bail after being charged. For this offence Colin must grant bail and can’t keep him for over 48 hours. To keep him until Monday is illegal. This abuse must stop,” the lawyer said.
King was among eight activists charged last August with illegally organising and taking part in protests in Kingstown earlier this year.
However, in December, Director of Public Prosecution Sejilla Mc Dowall entered nolle prosequi in the charges against each of the eight.
King, a prison officer, is being tried on a charge that on June 27, 2020 at Her Majesty’s Prisons in Kingstown, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded prisoner Dorian Mapp, 23, of Victoria Village.
In May 2020, King was detained for more than 30 hours then released without charge after he said on Facebook that a politician had allegedly ordered the return of a licensed firearms to a man who had threatened to kill his relatives.
Man threatening to kill wo.en yet the police say they can’t do anything yet they can detain and charge this idiot for these words. Are we for real in SVG?
Eliminating free speech is what socialist dictators do. All thinking Vincentians should fear they too will lose the right to free speech, free thinking, and free opinions. Socialism cannot support freedom.
Plenty Decent people support the opposition eh, but on the flip side plenty yam head people too lol….I guess the same can be said for the other side. SVG politics wayyy to tribal.
Even the Press fear them.
Ms Bacchus, it certainly looks as if you’re in over your head.
Mr King, thank Heaven that you did not go into nobody yard and injured them. You are no criminal , there are so many of them walking the streets in wig and jacket and tie without any shame. I wonder how some people sleep at nights.
This is what I don’t understand down there in saint Vincent. No one have free speech, they have to watch what they say since there are spies out there listening for the things people say or they will go to jail. What is wrong with you ignoramus vincentians. Dawn idiots.
“Sticks and stones will break your bones but name will never hurt you” Three ULP go into the yard of a man uninvited and shoot him in the leg. They go free and probably will be elected to receive some kind of ULP award or medal. This man utters a few words and they want to lock him up and refuse him bail. The three kaka bolsas did not even get arrested, they were classed as heroes.