Opposition urges Wheatley’s removal as IC seeks charges; Kahal Yahweh accused cleared in St James

Opposition Leader Mark Golding has urged Prime Minister Andrew Holness to remove Dr Andrew Wheatley from Cabinet after the Integrity Commission recommended he face four criminal counts, including illicit enrichment.

In a statement on Wednesday evening, Golding said a minister facing such prosecution cannot remain in government. He argued Holness must act at once to protect public trust, and questioned whether Wheatley disclosed the ongoing probe before his reappointment last year following the September 2025 general election. Wheatley resigned from Cabinet in 2018 amid controversy linked to Petrojam.

The commission’s report, tabled in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, followed an investigation finding he allegedly acquired assets roughly $164 million above lawful earnings between 2013 and 2022 without a satisfactory explanation. Recommended charges also include knowingly making false statements in statutory declarations and failing to provide required information. The director of corruption prosecution flagged possible tax compliance issues for referral to the Tax Administration Jamaica commissioner general.

Wheatley rejected the findings as false and misleading. He said he would challenge the commission in court, citing about $168 million in declared rental income over nine years and roughly $50 million in loan repayments tied to his real estate business that investigators did not properly weigh.

Separately, all 16 members of the Kahal Yahweh group charged over conditions at their Norwood, St James compound were found not guilty on Wednesday at the St James Parish Court. Senior Parish Court Judge Quashe Grant-Price upheld no-case submissions from attorneys King’s Counsel Peter Champagne and Samoy Campbell after prosecutors closed their case.

The accused had been on trial since 8 April 2024 over charges including breaches of the Education Act, cruelty to children and indecent assault stemming from a 7 June 2023 police raid. Defence counsel argued evidence was insufficient, including on school permissions, unsanitary conditions and an indecent assault complainant who said a relative, not the accused, assaulted her. Champagne said authorities may have acted prematurely against a group with distinctive religious beliefs.

The parliamentary opposition also raised conflict-of-interest questions after Minister Juliet Holness reacquired a controlling stake in Paymaster. Holness said she would not handle day-to-day operations. Opposition spokesperson on science, technology and digital transformation Christopher Brown called for clarity on ethics committee approval, required disclosures and recusal arrangements given her digital transformation portfolio overlaps with payment and fintech policy.