分类： politics

After a two-year hiatus, the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) is preparing to convene its first court martial proceedings since 2022, centered on a years-old sexual misconduct allegation that lay dormant for months before being resurrected under a looming legal deadline.

The case, which stems from an incident that occurred nearly three years ago, centers on a reserve corporal accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward a female service member. The investigation was originally closed after initial evidence was collected, but went cold until the alleged victim threatened to file a formal legal suit against the TTDF, forcing the military leadership to reopen the inquiry.

Commodore Don Polo, Chief of Defence Staff, has formally approved an ordinary court martial for the accused service member. Proceedings are scheduled to kick off today at the TTDF Headquarters located in Chaguaramas. Legal timelines play a critical role in this case: under Section 128 of the national Defence Act, military court martials face a strict three-year limitation period for initiating disciplinary proceedings, meaning the current proceedings have been called just days before the window to bring the case would have expired permanently.

A structured judicial panel has been assembled to oversee the proceedings. Squadron Leader K Ramsingh will serve as the president of the court, with fellow panel members Squadron Leader S Chase and Captain D Sealey supporting the proceedings. Captain (N) ZM King has been appointed as Judge Advocate to preside over the conduct of the trial, while Captains B Francois and S Soodeensingh have been tapped to lead the prosecution. As of the opening of proceedings, the accused reservist has not yet entered a plea in response to the allegations against him.

Against the backdrop of a recent spike in disruptive bomb threats across Trinidad and Tobago, former national security minister Gary Griffith has launched a bold push for sweeping legal and operational reforms to how the country addresses these incidents. In an exclusive interview with local outlet the Express on Wednesday, Griffith argued that treating these cases solely as routine police work misses their far-reaching implications for national stability, calling for a whole-of-government response that draws on the country’s full intelligence and security infrastructure.

Griffith pointed out that repeated bomb threats, particularly those involving claims of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), do more than just disrupt daily life—they are often intended to sow widespread public panic and erode confidence in state institutions. He questioned whether current legislative frameworks are robust enough to hold perpetrators accountable for the far-reaching harm they cause, and called for a nuanced legal distinction between isolated, frivolous threats and coordinated acts designed to destabilize the nation.

Under Griffith’s proposal, cases that meet criteria for intentional destabilization should be prosecuted under existing terrorism legislation, carrying the possibility of life imprisonment for convicted offenders. He also noted that where evidence links organized criminal groups to coordinated threat campaigns, the country’s anti-gang laws should also be deployed to pursue maximum penalties. The former minister stressed that these harsher sanctions are not just punitive—they are a necessary deterrent for actors seeking to undermine national order.

Beyond legislative changes, Griffith criticized the current response model that leaves primary responsibility for investigations with the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), arguing that this siloed approach is outdated and ineffective. He recalled that the National Operations Centre (NOC), an agency launched during his tenure as national security minister following official recommendations from the Commission of Enquiry into the 1990 attempted coup, was specifically built to fix this gap in coordination. The NOC was designed to bring together personnel from the Strategic Services Agency (SSA), the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, and multiple divisions of the TTPS to streamline information sharing and joint operations for national security threats.

“This is a matter that demands joint collaboration across all arms of the country’s intelligence community, not just a single agency,” Griffith emphasized. He pushed back against public narratives that reduce the bomb threat wave to a routine policing issue with imminent arrests promised, calling that framing a backward approach that ignores the potential for coordinated subversion. “It is only in a backward country that you’re hearing there’s bomb threats, and it’s a police matter, and the police investigating,” he said.

Griffith clarified that his criticism of the current response structure does not reflect a lack of confidence in the country’s security personnel. He expressed unwavering optimism that perpetrators will eventually be identified and brought before the courts, grounding that confidence in the extensive training and advanced capabilities of personnel across all protective service branches, not just the TTPS. “I am very confident that this matter would be dealt with, and those persons will be brought to justice,” he said.

In closing, Griffith repeated his call for urgent review and amendment of national security legislation to close gaps that allow those who cause mass disruption and panic to face disproportionately lenient consequences. He reiterated that threats deliberately crafted to destabilize the nation and spark political upheaval deserve the same severe penalties as other acts of terrorism, arguing that this alignment of law and policy is critical to protecting public safety and national security moving forward.

Deepening internal friction within the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) San Fernando East constituency has prompted a veteran figure from one of the region’s most storied political families to enter the race for the local party chairmanship, aiming to calm rising tensions and mend fractured party cohesion.

Hazel Manning, a former government minister and widow of iconic former prime minister Patrick Manning, made her candidacy official in a written statement released Saturday. The announcement was shared publicly on Facebook by her son Brian Manning, the current incumbent Member of Parliament for the San Fernando East constituency. In her address, Hazel Manning framed her decision as a response to widespread calls from party members, noting that after countless outreach efforts from constituents, she had agreed to put her name forward for the chairman role in the interest of restoring unity to the deeply divided constituency.

Her entry into the race comes against a backdrop of escalating open conflict that erupted after Brian Manning publicly aired formal concerns about the performance and conduct of the constituency’s current executive and its sitting chair, Patricia Alexis. The public dispute drew an immediate rebuke from national PNM chairman Marvin Gonzales, who warned party members against airing internal disagreements in public, while confirming that the leadership was reviewing the concerns Brian Manning had raised. Despite this official call for discretion, the constituency executive moved forward with a public rebuttal, deepening the rift within the local party branch.

In her statement, Hazel Manning emphasized that she had personally watched tensions climb and documented the growing unease among San Fernando East residents over the conduct, public reputation, and operations of some current local party representatives. She described the constituency as far more than a standard legislative seat, noting that it holds deep symbolic meaning not only for the Manning family’s decades-long political legacy but also for the PNM as a whole.

“For decades I watched my husband, and now my son Brian Manning, walk every street, take note of every issue and make sacrifices to try to reach and represent every constituent,” she wrote, calling for cross-faction collaboration to move the constituency forward. “Let us work together to repair, recover and rebuild.”

Hazel Manning brings decades of partisan and governmental experience to the race. Records from the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago confirm she first entered national office as a PNM government senator in 2002, before going on to serve as Minister of Education from 2002 to 2007, and later as Minister of Local Government starting that same year. Her late husband Patrick Manning, one of the PNM’s most prominent leaders, held the San Fernando East seat for 44 years, from 1971 through 2015, and served two non-consecutive terms as the country’s prime minister between 1991 and 2010. Brian Manning has held the family constituency seat since he won it for the PNM in the 2020 general election.

Following the announcement, local media outlet *Trinidad Express* reached out to key stakeholders for additional context on the development. Brian Manning declined to offer further comment beyond confirming that his mother would release additional details in the coming days. Requests for comment from PNM political leader Pennelope Beckles and national chairman Marvin Gonzales went unanswered as of press time.