Dominica PM demands money from Lennox Linton

The prime minister of Dominica has demanded that Lennox Linton apologise and pay him compensation after the opposition leader lost a defamation lawsuit.

Eighteen claimants filed a suit against Linton after he accused government ministers of sexually assaulting young people before helping them with public funds.

High Court Judge Bernie Stephenson dismissed Linton’s defence yesterday, describing it as unsustainable and lacking merit.

Stephenson also called it an abuse of the process of court.

Linton was given 48 hours to apologise to government ministers and pay $1 million for additional statements he made before legal proceedings began.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit was one of the claimants, and he is now demanding payment of his share.

The prime minister said in a speech tonight that Lennox Linton’s family are bankrupt because of the “stupidity and ignorance” of the opposition leader.

Linton has so far refused to pay.

WIC News has attempted to contact Linton and the United Workers' Party for a comment.

Who are the eighteen?

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of:

• Roosevelt Skerrit
• Levi Peter
• Ian Douglas
• Alvin Bernard
• Julius Timothy
• Petter Saint Jean
• Rayburn Blackmoore
• John Colin McIntyre
• Reginald Austrie
• Matthew Walter
• Ashton Graneau
• Gloria Shillingford
• Kenneth Darroux
• Justina Charles
• Ambrose George
• Johnson Drigo
• Ivor Stephenson
• Kelver Darroux

‘I want that money’

This case dates back to May 2014, when Linton made a speech at a youth rally organised by his United Workers’ Party.

It was here that he alleged the systematic rape of young people in exchange for assistance paid for by the state.

As well as Linton, West Indies Communications Enterprises – radio station Q95FM – was also named as a defendant.

Following the ruling the PM spoke at a town hall meeting in Cochrane, telling those in attendance that the judge believed Linton’s defence “was unacceptable” and “made no sense”.

Skerrit said: “So when I'm doing a little maths tonight there, I say ‘what boy, I might get $55,000? When you divide that [the compensation, $1 million] by eighteen it’s about $55,000. I want that money, I want that $55,000.

“I mean what is wrong with saying ‘I’m sorry, okay, in the heat of things I said some things, I was on the political platform, when I go home I reflect, I shouldn’t have said’?

“What is wrong with saying sorry? How many letters does sorry have? Five. It takes you less than 0.000 seconds to say that I am sorry. A little sorry.”

Linton’s actions set a poor example to the young people of Dominica, he added, and instead they should be taught that “if you do something wrong, sometimes we beat our children if they refuse to say sorry, just to say sorry”.