Judge probing murder of Haiti’s President steps down after his clerk killed

The judge probing the murder of the Haitian president resigned on Friday, less than two days after his assistant was assassinated. The resignation has again thrown the investigations into disarray five weeks after Jovenel Moise was murdered at his home. In a letter, Judge Mathieu Chanlatte stated that he was resigning due to some "personal reasons". It was not possible to determine whether Mr Chanlatte's resignation was due to the killing of his clerk, Ernst Lafortune.

In response to a request for comment, Mr Chanlatte sent a screenshot of a tweet from a Haitian radio station. According to the tweet, citing an unnamed source in the judiciary, Mr Chanlatte left the case because "the means that the magistrate asked to do his job well were not given to him." Mr Chanlatte did not embellish more.

[caption id="attachment_36736" align="alignnone" width="920"] Judge Mathieu Chanlatte[/caption]

The National Association of Haitian Legal Clerks said that Ernst Lafortune (Judge Mathieu's clerk) was abducted after his lively meeting with Judge Mathieu.

The union stated that he was kidnapped by someone who later dropped him at the hospital with broken arms, stabbing wounds on the neck and more. He succumbed during treatment leaving behind a wife and at least two children.

The government of Haiti had been looking for a suitable Judge to investigate the killing; Judge Mathieu Chanlatte was appointed after weeks of assassination. Prime Minister Ariel Henry had said that Judge Chanlatte is a suitable person for the job who will not be intimidated by anyone. However, it is suspected that the rising criminal gangs threatened him, which forced him to resign from the position.

The investigation is now again thrown into disarray, with no officials ready to probe, fearing their lives.

The government of Haiti have also requested the United Nations to carry out an "international investigation" into the matter. Prime Minister Ariel Henry in an interview with "The New York Times" said that the killers of President Jovenel Moise are certainly someone with "big money" and "power".