The first court hearing in the legal battle between Prime Minister Andrew Holness and the Integrity Commission is scheduled for Thursday in the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston.
Prime Minister Holness is seeking leave to apply for judicial review of a damning report issued by the commission’s director of investigation, Kevon Stephenson.
The report, which was tabled in Parliament in September, scrutinises the prime minister’s uncertified statutory declarations for the years 2021 to 2023 and raises questions about certain aspects of his financial affairs.
The commission’s director of corruption prosecution, Keisha Prince-Kameka, determined no criminal charges should be brought against the prime minister, despite a recommendation that he be charged for failing to disclose four related bank accounts.
Following this, the commission referred the matter to Tax Administration Jamaica, TAJ, and the Financial Investigations Division, FID, for further investigation.
Prime Minister Holness, however, has accused the commission of abuse of process and violations of his constitutional rights, citing several irregularities in the commission’s investigation.
His legal team has listed 30 grounds on which they are seeking judicial review.
The prime minister is represented by King’s Counsel Georgia Gibson Henlin, while the Integrity Commission is represented by King’s Counsel Michael Hylton.
