Government officials are still refusing to say publicly whether an incident between Kennedy MP Kenyatta Gibson and Mount Moriah MP Keod Smith amounted to a physical confrontation, although several reported eyewitnesses to the fight continue to say off the record that it in fact was.
When they appeared as guests on the Love 97 programme “Jones and Company” on Sunday, the two MPs denied that their altercation was a fistfight or that any blows had been thrown, and Mr. Gibson vehemently denied that he had slapped Mr. Smith.
So exactly what happened?
Itﾒs a question that remains unanswered as the governing Progressive Liberal Party refuses to provide any specifics into the matter.
Minister of Financial Services and Investments Vincent Peet, who made a statement on behalf of the government on the matter, characterized it only as a “heated debate” and a “heated exchanged”, but refused to say whether the confrontation was physical.
Minister Peet, who is leader of government business in the House of Assembly, explained that a parliamentary meeting was held in the Cabinet Office last Monday night to prepare for parliament on Wednesday. He chaired the meeting.
“The prime minister attended and left early to speak at another functionﾅIt was an informative meeting and at the end of the meeting there was basically a heated debate, exchange, between my two colleagues,” Minister Peet said.
“The exchange took place. It was not as extreme as the reports are making it out to be. It was unfortunate and should not have happened and it is something that all parties must regret. Certainly, as chairman of the meeting, I regretted it and it is something that the country should be apologized to for such behaviour, although it was not as extreme or at the level that is being debated.”
He added, “Nevertheless, it is something that should never have happened as we are all elected leaders, and so I wanted to just say that. I also want to say that clearly it is also being used, as expected, as a political football and that the opposition would want to take the countryﾒs direction or attention off all of the positive things that are happening under the Right Honourable Perry Christieﾒs leadership.
“The economy is strong. People are working. Islands are being developed and we have a record that we can stand on. And so, Iﾒm sure that others would want to make this into a debate, but I think the country would understand that weﾒre moving forward in the right direction.”
The Bahama Journal
