Cross Roads rally targets TCN pact and Wheatley tenure as courts and police advance separate cases

Protesters gathered at Cross Roads on Tuesday to oppose the Government’s agreement with the United States to temporarily receive third-country nationals, and to demand the resignation of Cabinet minister Dr. Andrew Wheatley following adverse findings by the Integrity Commission.

Addressing the demonstration, organiser K. Osborne said Jamaica faces a crisis of governance and public trust. He argued that the migrant arrangement was signed in secret and might never have come to light but for a cleaner who exposed it, and he maintained that keeping Wheatley in Cabinet undermines accountability despite official assurances about his work.

An Integrity Commission investigation report tabled in Parliament last Wednesday found that Wheatley held assets disproportionate to his lawful earnings, valued at approximately $164 million, and failed to provide a satisfactory explanation. Although Wheatley has strongly rejected the findings, calls for his resignation or removal have grown among opposition members and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica. On Friday, attorneys for Wheatley sought permission from the Supreme Court to apply for a judicial review of the Commission’s recommendation. He is the second Cabinet member to move against an IC ruling in court; Prime Minister Andrew Holness is also before the court seeking judicial review of the Commission’s report on his statutory declarations.

Opposition spokesman on finance Julian Robinson, who attended the protest, backed calls for the agreement to be made public and tabled in Parliament. Veteran law enforcement officer and former Senior Superintendent of Police Steve McGregor warned that the third-country national programme could worsen crime if poorly managed, saying migrants could become targets for gang recruitment and questioning how their movements would be monitored. National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang has said the initial group would comprise 25 English-speaking migrants and that the arrangement would end if they remain in Jamaica, but critics continue to demand publication of the memorandum of understanding.

In St. Catherine Parish Court on Tuesday, 20-year-old Giovani McFarland was granted $800,000 bail on charges of robbery with aggravation and wounding in connection with the March 1 stabbing and robbery of a businessman in the Makukpen district. Attorney-at-law Dana Hugh Martin told the court his client was remorseful, had spent a lengthy period in custody, was not a flight risk, and had a fixed address. Parish Court Judge Janelle Nelson Gale granted bail on condition that McFarland surrender his travel documents; a stop order was also imposed at the island’s ports of entry and exit. He is to return to court on September 22, 2026. It is alleged that on March 1 the complainant went to collect money in Makukpen, encountered three men including McFarland, was stabbed, had a pillow placed over his head, and that the assailants fled in a waiting Toyota motor car with a Lenovo laptop, bank cards, and other items. McFarland surrendered to police on April 15 and was later charged following a question-and-answer session.

Firefighters from the Jamaica Fire Brigade were battling a major blaze in Falmouth, Trelawny, that engulfed a bar, a nightclub, a clothing store, and a fabric store, and also consumed a nearby dwelling house. The cause was not yet known. A large crowd of onlookers gathered while members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force worked to maintain order as crews tried to bring the fire under control.

MVP Track and Field Club co-founder and technical director Steven Francis is receiving medical treatment in hospital, the club confirmed on Tuesday after widespread public speculation. In a statement issued by club president Bruce James, the organisation said Francis is under the care of medical professionals but declined to disclose details of his condition, diagnosis, treatment, or prognosis, citing privacy. The club said its immediate focus is supporting Francis and his family while maintaining normal operations and athlete preparation.

In St. Ann, a man wanted for questioning in the June 6 murder of 34-year-old Jessica Howell, otherwise called Nooks, in Capturing Land, Moneague Bay, is in police custody after being handed over by his attorney on Monday evening. Senior Superintendent Carlos Russell, head of the St. Ann Police Division, said the suspect would be questioned. It is alleged that the suspect, who was in a relationship with Howell, went to her house about 5:00 a.m. on June 6, called her outside, and that an argument and tussle followed during which a ratchet knife was used to slash her throat before he fled in a silver Toyota bus.

In Barbados, two Jamaican women have been charged following an investigation by the Barbados Police Service Narcotics Unit. They are 57-year-old Judith Marie Brown of Alexander Road, Kingston, and 63-year-old Darene Vernica Kaine of Waverly Avenue, Kingston. Police said Brown faces charges of possession of cannabis, possession with intent to supply, trafficking in cannabis, and importation of cannabis. Kaine has also been arrested and charged, though the details were not immediately disclosed.