No charges against Holness, rules director of corruption prosecution

Keisha Prince-Kameka, the director of corruption prosecution at the Integrity Commission, has ruled that no charges will be preferred against Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

Director of Investigations at the Commission Kevon Stephenson had referred a report to Prince-Kameka implicating the prime minister in an alleged conflict of interest after he concluded that Holness may have influenced the awarding of millions of dollars in government contracts to the company of a business associate. 

The recommendation was made in a 107-page report which contains details of an investigation into the award of government contracts to Westcon Construction Limited between 2006 and 2009. 

However, Prince-Kameka, in a ruling dated February 13, 2023, said in relation to conflict of interest allegations against Holness, “with additional material being made available, which investigations have failed to contradict or provide more evidence in support of the offences contemplated, no criminal charges can be laid.”

A ruling has also been made in relation to a possible breach of section 29 of the then Contractor General's Act in which the Ministry of Education, the National Works Agency and the Social Development Commission failed to submit quarterly contract reports of contracts awarded to Westcon Construction Limited to the then Office of the Contractor General.

Prince-Kameka ruled that although evidence has been identified sufficient to mount charges for the noted offences, the prosecution would be hard-pressed to resist an abuse of process application with regard to undue delay.

Turning to a recommendation that Dr Dwayne Vernon, head of the Social Development Commission, allegedly willfully made a false statement to mislead the Contractor General and therefore breached section 29 of the Contractor General's Act, the director of corruption prosecution said “the evidence does not reveal prima facie case with a realistic prospect of conviction in relation to the alleged offence, therefore, no criminal charges are being recommended in respect of this offence”.

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