Dayton Campbell settles Vaz defamation suit as Jamaica mourns Stephen Francis

Energy Minister Daryl Vaz welcomed the settlement of a defamation claim he and two other politicians brought against People’s National Party General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell, calling the outcome vindication after what he described as a decades-long political smear campaign.

Vaz, former MP Ofneil Lawrence, and St Thomas Western MP James Robertson sued Campbell over remarks made at the PNP’s Clarendon Northwestern Annual Conference in July 2023. Ahead of a Supreme Court trial set for Wednesday, the parties reached an amicable settlement. Terms were not disclosed, but Campbell issued what Vaz called a strong and unequivocal apology, accepting that the allegations against Vaz and his co-claimants had no foundation.

In a statement, Campbell said that on or about 27 July 2023 he made platform remarks that could have been taken as linking Vaz to the murder of Diane Smith and to an alleged 2015 plot to assassinate then Opposition Leader Andrew Holness. He withdrew the remarks as categorically false, noted that Vaz had shown he was out of the country when Diane Smith was killed, and pointed to a convicted public-mischief case tied to the Holness plot claim. He apologised to Vaz and his family and undertook not to repeat the statements. Vaz said he was grateful the matter had been put to rest after 40 years. Robertson, describing Campbell as a close family friend, accepted the apology; Lawrence said the settlement served the parties, their families, and the country. Campbell said he was pleased the dispute was resolved and that political differences should not become personal.

Jamaica and the wider sporting world are mourning legendary track and field coach Stephen Francis, co-founder and technical director of MVP Track Club, who died on Saturday, a day after his 64th birthday. Born 3 July 1962, Francis was widely ranked among history’s great sprint coaches. Prime Minister Andrew Holness called him a patriot whose contribution to Brand Jamaica was immeasurable; Opposition Leader Mark Golding hailed him as a giant of the sport; Sports Minister Olivia Grange credited him with much of the pride Jamaicans felt as local athletes dominated globally; and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley called his death a regional loss. Francis co-founded MVP in 1999 as an alternative to the US collegiate path and helped develop stars including Asafa Powell, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shericka Jackson, Kishane Thompson, and many others across nearly three decades.

Separately, CARICOM heads reassured the public that proposed United States agreements on the transit of third-country nationals are meant only to aid temporary returns to countries of origin, not permanent settlement. The clarification followed a caucus on US memoranda of understanding; some member states have already signed, others are still talking with Washington. Leaders also agreed to seek a Caribbean Court of Justice advisory opinion under Article 212 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas on the process used to reappoint Secretary-General Dr Carla Barnett, after Trinidad and Tobago’s objection at a Saint Lucia retreat on Monday. The status quo on Barnett’s reappointment will hold pending the court’s view.

Government Minister Matthew Samuda urged that the Financial Investigations Division, not the Integrity Commission, review MPs’ statutory declarations, arguing the FID already has fit-and-proper expertise and raising conflict-of-interest concerns about parliamentary oversight. Justice Minister Delroy Chuck said some Commission questions of parliamentarians were overly intrusive. The Commission says it acts under the 2017 Integrity Commission Act. Its annual report tabled Tuesday said six MPs and one senator are under investigation for possible illicit enrichment or false information; from April 2018 to March 2026, 14 MPs were referred, with six cases later closed.

Police warned nightclub operators they face prosecution for employing or harbouring children after 38-year-old Marsha Gamez Clean was charged under the Child Care and Protection Act over a 17-year-old at a nightclub. Two others faced separate ganja charges. In St Thomas, girls aged 15 and 14 were held on suspicion of attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, and simple larceny after a 64-year-old man was allegedly stabbed at a Maroons Bay villa in the early hours of 5 July; he remains in hospital in serious condition.