Nagra Plunkett, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
AN ALLEGED fistfight and disagreement at the People's National Party (PNP) Bogue United Group annual general meeting in Balaclava, St. Elizabeth, on the weekend, has forced the chairperson of the group to request an immediate investigation by the party hierarchy.
In a letter to PNP general secretary Burchell Whiteman, the group's chairperson Sandra Dobson wrote that comrade Rodney Barnes hit comrade Seaton Fisher in the face after a heated debate developed over the absence of some members, including the secretary and the treasurer.
TEMPERS FLARED
Yesterday, Senator Kern Spencer, chairman of the North East St. Elizabeth constituency, confirmed 'emotions and tempers flared' but said he did not witness a fistfight.
"I take the matter very seriously and I am going to carry out a full investigation into the matter," Senator Spencer, who is also the Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, told The Gleaner.
"The investigation will also seek to determine who leaked the matter to the media as the issue was internal and a report was made to the Regional Executive Council the next day. It is not the style of the party to settle our issues in the public."
He said he found it surprising that days before the caretaker selection conference (of which he is a candidate) this issue has arisen even though the PNP Region Five chairperson, Michael Peart, agreed to meet with group members to settle the matter amicably.
Reports are that there is now a rift among some members in the constituency. Ms. Dobson also claimed that some persons attended the meeting to sabotage the election of executive members and that efforts to bring the matter under control were unsuccessful.
"I have been told about it (the incident) but I don't have any comments at this time," said Member of Parliament for the area, Roger Clarke, when he was contacted.
