Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 21, 2020 — A notice on state-owned ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation has raised concerns of conflict of interest in the Office of the Prime Minister and the Registry of the High Court, as the High Court Registrar, Mrs Janine Harris-Lake, is the sister of Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris.
The individuals have expressed concern about the SKNLP’s access to the St. Kitts High Court if it becomes necessary during the election period, noting a recent ruling by Resident High Court Judge His Lordship Mr Justice Eddy Ventose which highlighted several abuses of the court process by Harris-Lake in the Tanzania Tanzil v Lindsay Grant et al matter.
In his 31-page ruling, Justice Ventose found that “someone in the court office informed the defendants (Grant and Powell) of the Claimant’s ex parte application,” raising “serious questions concerning the confidentiality of court documents and processes.” He stressed that “public confidence in the administration of justice in St. Christopher and Nevis will be seriously and perhaps irreparably eroded if the public perceives that the court office picks sides in disputes coming before the court, particularly where that dispute involves public figures, politicians or government officials.”
Justice Ventose ultimately found Grant and Powell liable for breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of US$460,000 (EC$1.2 million) belonging to a client. He ordered them to appear before a Disciplinary Tribunal to consider whether they should be suspended from practicing for a specified period or struck off from the Court Roll.