The incident involving a government minister who allegedly assaulted a man at an East Coast drinking spot and later fired his gun outside on the road has been settled out of court and the minister has apologized through an intermediary, according to Joseph Doodnauth, the teenager at the centre of the case.
Doodnauth, 19, told Stabroek News yesterday that initial media reports did not accurately reflect what had occurred between himself and the minister, and he explained that the woman in the story was his aunt with whom the minister had shared a relationship for some time now.
Doodnauth would not say whether the settlement with the minister was monetary, merely commenting, “It is a family matter and we settled it.” He said that ranks at the Sparendaam Police Station were aware that the matter had been settled. The police last week told this newspaper that a report had been completed and the file had been sent to the Director of Public Prosecution for advice. In addition, the minister’s firearm had been seized for ballistics testing. There has been no word from the DPP chamber on the issue.
Doodnauth explained yesterday that the government official had a steady relationship with his aunt who lives at Montrose. The young man said he did not live with his aunt; he worked in the hinterland, but whenever he was in Georgetown he would stop over at Montrose. The 19-year-old went on to say that he had seen the minister several times visiting his aunt, but the two of them were never friends.
On the night in question, Doodnauth said the minister picked up his aunt early on Saturday night and they went out to a barbecue at a bar on the Vryheid’s Lust Public Road.
Shortly afterwards he and another relative went to the barbecue. Doodnauth said when he got there he saw his aunt standing with the minister and he called her over and she responded. After she had been standing for a while with him Doodnauth said the minister approached them and began using expletives. “I don’t’ know if he think I was her man, but he see me before at the house so it was a lil strange,” Doodnauth said.
He said after cursing, the minister who had a bottle of Carib Beer in his hands left, but subsequently returned and cursed him again. He did this for a third time and then went away.
Doodnauth said he became very angry with the minister’s conduct and as a result he approached him. “Big man I ain’t like what you deh pon,” he recalled telling the minister. With that an argument ensued, and the government official then took out his firearm and hit the teenager on the forehead with it. It caused a deep wound, and with blood gushing down his face Doodnauth said he left the rum shop for his aunt’s home. The stitched-up wound was evident on Doodnauth’s forehead when Stabroek News saw him yesterday.
Doodnauth said that on his way home he was pursued by the minister who drove his vehicle close to him and jammed him. He did not fall, but the minister emerged from his vehicle and fired several gunshots in the air. He also threatened him before leaving him to go on his way. Doodnauth said that shortly after the incident he was arrested by the police and taken to Sparendaam Police Station, where the minister also showed up. The young man said he had since received treatment for his wounds and was recuperating. “I have forgiven him, I don’t know if he forgives me, but I forgive him,” he told Stabroek News.
Asked if he had seen the minister since the incident, Doodnauth replied no, but he noted that the government official would often call at his aunt’s home and enquire about his health. He said that through his aunt the minister had apologized for his conduct.
Asked whether his aunt had pressured him into settling the matter, Doodnauth asserted that he was a “big man.” He acknowledged however that the minister took care of his aunt’s welfare and other things. A neighbour of Doodnauth’s aunt said he heard the gunshots on Sunday, and confirmed that the minister would often visit the home.
Some observers have expressed the view that the minister should step aside to facilitate a thorough probe into the incident.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Roger Luncheon who addressed the matter of the incident in response to a question at his media conference on Friday, said that it would only be discussed by Cabinet if it were introduced by that minister himself, or by Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee. Luncheon told reporters that the information that has been provided so far “seems to suggest that the police and the party involved are addressing the matter
