KnightLynford Simpson, Staff Reporter
THE INTENSITY of the political campaigning in the run-up to a general election expected to be close was obvious Thursday afternoon, when candidates representing the two main political parties in the East Central St. Catherine constituency just stopped short of coming to blows.
K.D. Knight, incumbent Member of Parliament and Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, squared off with the Jamaica Labour Party's Raymoth Notice, former prison doctor, outside a bar along the Sligoville main road in the constituency.
The two men were separated after they collared each other, according to Dr. Notice.
Efforts to get Mr. Knight to comment yesterday were unsuccessful. PNP officials did not return calls, either. However, Dr. Notice, best known for blowing the whistle on the beating of nearly 300 prisoners at the St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre in May, 2000, when he was the doctor in charge, gave his version of the incident.
He told The Gleaner he had gone to a section of the constituency called Brooklyn, at about 4:00 p.m. Thursday, to meet a client at a bar. On his arrival, he was told his client had left. He said he observed that Mr. Knight was among the patrons at the bar. He ordered a drink, went outside and was subsequently told Mr. Knight wanted to talk to him.
"I considered it rude that he sent for me instead of coming to me, but I said I would talk to him when I'm through, since I'm a decent person," Dr. Notice said. He said he was approached by Mr. Knight, who reportedly told him: "You're fourth in line. If you deviate, I'm going to act. If you deviate, I'm going to pull your files."
Asked to explain what the Minister might have meant, Dr. Notice pointed to the fact that Mr. Knight has won the East Central St. Catherine seat on three previous occasions. "He was perhaps telling me he expected clean campaigning," Dr. Notice said.
The former Security Minister reportedly accused Dr. Notice of telling lies on him and stated that he was a "different man when you question my integrity". The so-called lies, according to Dr. Notice, related to promises Mr. Knight supposedly made to informal settlers about regularising their tenure on lands belonging to the Rio Cobre Juvenile Centre.
Dr. Notice claimed he offered to sit down and talk with Mr. Knight to sort out any misunderstanding, but was told he would not sit with him because he was a boy. "I then told him he was a bigger boy, at which stage, he went on to assault me physically by holding on to the collar of my shirt... I reacted by doing likewise," Dr. Notice explained.
Both men were reportedly restrained by Minister Knight's bodyguard and two JLP councillors who had accompanied Dr. Notice into the area. The two men subsequently made up and Dr. Notice accepted drinks offered by Mr. Knight.
"We spoke about a range of things and then I spoke with him privately and counselled him. I told him I was a man of peace and was surprised by his action," said Dr. Notice. "I told him that regardless of who his opponent is, he should at all times show respect and exercise self-restraint."
He charged that Mr. Knight was at odds with him for blowing the whistle on the prison beatings and for a number of letters he wrote to the newspapers, in which he was critical of Mr. Knight's performance as Security Minister.
The battering of the prisoners, which left several with broken bones and caused one to lose an eye, led to the setting up of a Commission of Enquiry by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson.
Although the matter was seemingly resolved by both men, The Gleaner was told that the JLP hierarchy will be asking newly-appointed Ombudsman, Bishop Herro Blair, to review the case. This, against the background of the recently-signed Code of Political Conduct between the Government and Opposition, which bounds political rivals to certain behaviour.
When contacted, Bishop Blair at first suggested it was a matter for the police. He then said he was not in a position to comment, as he was not privy to the details. He said he would "hold comment until the matter is looked into by my office."
