Vincentian political activist Kenson King has been slapped with three charges under a colonial law that has already been repealed by the UK but remains on the books in St Vincent, a former colony of the Crown.
King was charged under the Sedition Act that he allegedly uttered seditious words during a Facebook live in December 2021.
On Sunday the 27th day of March, Lawyer Kay Bacchus Baptiste told the St Vincent Times that the charges include;
For that, you on the 191h, day of December 2021 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines 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 would have been looking to pull back them stuff dey. All like Sister Medford ah them need to just disappear”.
For that you on the 19th, day of December. 2021 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines did utter seditious words to wit, “Also 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 and decent people running SVG in the form of Dr Friday and his team”.
For that, you, on the 19th day of December 2021 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, did utter seditious words to wit, “There is no longer any peace in St. Vincent. This is a war eh. This right now is a war. We are in a war, and in 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 causalities on our side, moles? Stamp out the moles ah them too”.
The sedition laws date back centuries and were initially designed to protect the Crown and government from any potential uprising. The charges come at a time when Prince Edward and Sophie Countess of Wessex is expected to visit the island in April.
However, a precedent has already been set for sedition laws which lawyers say can be used to argue King’s case.
For instance, in Trinidad, the Sedition Act was struck down by Justice Frank Seepersad following a claim against Sat Maharaj for statements he made on a tv programme in April 2019.
The Statement;
Maharaj stated that citizens living in Tobago were lazy and that the men were rapists.
Attorneys representing Sat Maharaj and Central Broadcasting Services had sought a declaration that the sedition legislation breached the constitutional rights of citizens to freedom of thought and expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of association and assembly.
In a 46 page judgement, Justice Seepersad ruled that Sections 3 and 4 of the Sedition Act were patently inconsistent and are at odds with Section 1 of the Constitution, which guarantees that Trinidad and Tobago is a sovereign democratic State, as these provisions impose disproportionate and unjustified restrictions on free speech, expression and thought.
“In addition, they violate the Rule of Law because they lack certainty, are vague, so their status as law cannot be reasonably justified in this sovereign democratic state,” the Judge said.
What did the Judge found
Justice Seepersad stated that the vagueness, lack of clarity and uncertainty in the relevant provisions of the Sedition Act lead to an arbitrary application of the law.
“One of the core principles associated with the rule of law is the principle of legal certainty. The rule of law demands that citizens should be able to regulate their conduct. Legislation which is hopelessly vague, does not facilitate such regulation and cannot qualify as law.
Justice Seepersad said that the history of Trinidad and Tobago, from the period when there was a Monarchy to the post-1976 era when Trinidad and Tobago became a Republic, the impugned provisions now have no place in this sovereign democratic state where the people are sovereign.
“The unjustified limits which the impugned provisions of the Sedition Act impose upon the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press violate the binding guarantee that this Republic is a sovereign democratic state as outlined under Section 1 of the Constitution and pursuant to Section 2 of the Constitution, laws which are inconsistent with the Constitution are void to the extent of the inconsistency”, he said.
Following the declaration by Justice Seepersad, there was an immediate halt to a preliminary enquiry against Watson Duke, president of the Public Services Association (PSA), who was charged with sedition over statements he made during a protest at TSTT in 2018.
King was taken into custody by St Vincent police on Friday 25th March. Lawyer Kay Bacchus Baptiste says King remains in custody.
The activist will face court on Monday 28th March, to answer the charges.
