by Linda Straker
- Legal Affairs Minister’s attorneys to proceed with legal action against a radio station and its owners
- In 2018, Kimberlain Mills ordered to issue public apology and compensate Maturine-Stewart
A minister of Government in Grenada has instructed her attorneys to proceed with legal action against a radio station and its owners, over what she described as damaging, a defamatory statement designed to discredit her professional and personal life.
Kindra Maturine-Stewart who serves as Legal Affairs Minister issued a statement on the weekend after the host of a political and social commentary talkshow claimed that the Government of Grenada had deposited thousands of dollars directly to her personal banking account.
No evidence was provided to the audience of the programme which is aired both on radio and via the Facebook live video link of the programme.
“I issue this statement to refute in the strongest possible manner those said allegations, assertions and other false accusations that were made against me during that said radio program. These defamatory statements were no doubt actuated by spite and malice and are further designed to discredit me in both my personal and professional life,” Maturine-Stewart said in her statement.
“I have since instructed my attorneys to institute legal proceedings on my behalf to ensure that the maker of these false and malicious statements is dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. In this regard, I am aware that my said attorneys have already made formal contact with the maker of these false and malicious statements and the process of redress has commenced,” said the statement which was issued via her Facebook page.
Maturine-Stewart who is the Member of Parliament for Carriacou and Petite Martinique said that her attorneys have “my full instructions to pursue appropriate damages from owners of the radio station because it is apparent that he has not learnt the lesson of his last attack upon my good name and reputation when he was forced to make reparation, a process that is itself ongoing and is being pursued to full satisfaction.”
In 2018, the High Court ordered that the station and its owner Kimberlain Mills issue a public apology and compensate Maturine-Stewart with EC$20,000 in damages after a similar defamatory statement was broadcast via the radio station’s frequency of 101.3FM and its social media platforms.
When contacted, Mills said that he was unable to speak to the press at the time.
