In this column on October 18 (Tribune editorial) we stated that it was “exactly one month and one day” after the cabinet room brawl that Prime Minister Perry Christie announced he had accepted the resignations of MPs Kenyatta Gibson and Keod Smith from their parliamentary posts. The time gap in this statement is incorrect. It was exactly three weeks – not one month – and one day from the fight that the PM anounced their resignations.
The fight between the two MPs – one the Ambassador to the Environment, the other chairman of the Gaming Board – took place after a parliamentary meeting held in the Cabinet Room on Monday, September 25. The men, both lawyers, after an exchange of angry words over a land transaction for their respective clients, resolved their differences with body blows. In the struggle it was reported that two window panes were broken as was the glass top to the Cabinet table.
In his account to the press Mr Christie said he was told “that there was a broken pane that cost about $49.50 to replace and a chip on the glass that sits on the table as opposed to a broken table.” After the press conference, The Tribune received a call from a spokesman for the Prime Minister’s office asking that the PM’s statement be amended. It was now estimated that the cost of the damage done by the two parliamentarians was $769 and not $49.50. It was explained that although the glass covering the Cabinet table was only chipped, the entire surface had to be replaced. The spokesman also said that the two MPs had already reimbursed government for the damage.
And there the matter rested as all involved tried to minimise the collateral damage done to their reputations, their public office and a society in which wayward youth lack role models.
Kennedy MP Kenyatta Gibson was the first to realise the enormity of the political fall-out from a scuffle that to this day Mount Moriah MP Keod Smith has dismissed as an inconsequential, private matter. In other words, none of the public’s business. Therefore, nothing to apologise for.
By the end of that week on September 28 – five days after the fight – Mr Gibson issued a statement of apology. He said he was deeply saddened that his “human frailty” led to behaviour he greatly regretted. “I realise,” he said, “that these events declined to an unacceptable and undignified level.” He then asked Bahamians, particularly his constituents, to forgive and forget.
The press and public expected a resignation to follow. Nothing happened, although last week Prime Minister Christie said he had accepted Mr Gibson’s resignation on October 5.
Mr Christie, who was not a witness to brawl, made matters worse, focusing public attention on himself when, shortly after the event, he commented that he and the two offenders had “laughed together at the media coverage.” He added that he saw “no bruises or bite marks.” He believed the fight was ‘more apparent than real.'”
On October 1 the two MPs were guests on a radio talk show. They put up a united front, again trying to make light of the incident. This bravado angered the public even more. Many were now calling for Mr Christie to either discipline his two MPs or himself resign.
In his announcement last week that he had accepted Mr Smith’s resignation on October 3 and Mr Gibson’s on October 5, both effective from October 9, many wondered why, with rumours growing wilder about behind the scenes negotiations, Mr Christie had waited another 12 days before informing the public.
Mr Christie explained that he was influenced by his own personal political experiences; he did not want to damage any colleague’s political future. Mr Christie was referring to the mid-eighties when then Prime Minister Pindling fired him from his Cabinet and the PLP council later denied him a nomination in that year’s election.
There can be no comparison here. Mr Christie’s situation was purely political, a question of principles. However, the fight between the two MPs, not only took place on public property, but public property was damaged- it was not a private affair ﾠIf little John Q Public had been involved, two hefty constables would have appeared at the door and John Q would have been dragged off to face the magistrate. This obviously, is a point not yet grasped by Mr Keod Smith.
Commenting on the public outcry over the incident, Mr Christie said it was apparent that the Bahamian people are deeply concerned about the “edge” that exists in young Bahamians and are deeply concerned about a manifestation of that kind of occurrence appearing in public life.
This reminds us of the late Sir Lynden Pindling’s statement after his government was defeated in the 1992 election. Said Sir Lynden: “We knew people were hurting, we knew that homes were being sold, we knew that parents were taking kids out of school. We didn’t think that this would have affected them so dramatically in determining what they would do during the election.”
This could be the PLP’s lamentation after the 2007 election, if they don’t wake up and understand that Bahamians are crying out for strong leadership, the end to foolishness, and each MP behaving as though he is a government unto himself.
Editorial from The Tribune
