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The National Taxi Union has been rocked by a second high-profile resignation in just 48 hours, with vice president Isidore Brisefert stepping down from his post Wednesday with immediate effect. His departure follows closely after public relations officer David Shakes Christopher exited the senior leadership team a day prior, marking the latest escalation of long-simmering internal tensions over current president Terry Valcin’s leadership.

In an official public statement announcing his exit, Brisefert laid out clear, damning concerns about Valcin’s approach to leading the organization and the strategic trajectory the union has taken under his tenure, echoing the criticisms shared by Christopher in his own departure announcement Tuesday.

Brisefert’s resignation letter centered on what he described as a persistent lack of collaborative, collective decision-making across the union’s executive body. He wrote that after careful, extended reflection, he could no longer remain in a leadership role under a president whose governing style increasingly leaned into authoritarianism rather than the democratic, consultative, collective representation that union members deserve.

The departing vice president went on to question the transparency and fairness of internal decision-making processes, alleging that key issues affecting frontline taxi operators are regularly settled without meaningful debate or consideration of alternative perspectives from executive members. Brisefert noted that this top-down approach has fueled rising frustration among the union’s top governing body, with little willingness from Valcin to course-correct.

“As vice president, I have always held that strong union leadership must be built on the foundations of fairness, openness, collaborative teamwork, and respect for every member’s voice,” Brisefert said in his statement.

He added that the union has failed to unify its membership and grow its industry influence under current leadership, in large part because the input of executive committee members is routinely sidelined or ignored entirely. Frontline taxi operators, he argued, need far more inclusive, effective leadership that prioritizes their needs.

“Our taxi operators deserve leadership that listens, includes all voices, and fights unapologetically for their best interests,” Brisefert said. “In these economically uncertain times, our members need unity, transparency, and trustworthy representation that shows up for them every day.”

Though he is leaving his senior vice president post, Brisefert expressed gratitude to the members who have supported his work and confirmed he will continue advocating for taxi operators across the country in a new, non-leadership capacity.

For his part, Christopher framed his own exit as the result of months of consideration, saying his decision reflected widespread, cross-executive concerns about the union’s current management structure. He argued that the core values that once anchored the union have eroded significantly under Valcin’s leadership, creating a situation where he could not in good conscience continue serving in his role.

These latest departures are not an isolated incident, but the outcome of years of unresolved leadership friction within the union. Former president Lucien Joseph first publicly questioned the legitimacy of Valcin’s leadership before stepping down in 2022, shortly after he lost a no-confidence vote from union members. The organization most recently held its Annual General Meeting and Conference of Delegates in March 2025 to address ongoing internal and industry challenges.

To date, President Valcin has declined to provide immediate comment on the dual resignations. He told local outlet St Lucia Times that he plans to deliver a full, detailed address on the situation at a general union meeting scheduled for June 1. That upcoming gathering will also tackle a slate of pressing industry-wide issues, including a proposed plan to launch a custom taxi service app and ongoing policy discussions about third-party transportation platforms such as Uber.

Known internationally as a Grammy-nominated reggae musician and dedicated social philanthropist, Taj Weekes has spent years advocating for marginalized communities across the Caribbean through his non-profit TUCO Foundation. After decades living abroad across the United States, Cuba, and multiple regions of Africa, Weekes made the choice to return to his home country of Saint Lucia earlier this year, settling into a quiet, isolated property tucked into the wooded coastline of Mon Repos on the island’s southeastern shore. What he expected to be a peaceful, reclusive life of quiet gardening and community-focused work was shattered dramatically last Sunday night, when four masked, armed intruders accessed his remote property.

In a first-hand public account of the incident shared earlier this week, Weekes detailed the disorienting encounter that unfolded around 10:15 p.m. He had left his doors open — a habit he developed in the secluded, low-crime area he called home — and was speaking with his wife on the phone when he spotted four bright lights moving down his private driveway. Initially, he assumed the visitors were friends or family with access to the property, so he walked out casually to greet them, not raising his guard.

As he drew closer, Weekes realized the figures were four adult men dressed in tactical military-style gear and fully masked to hide their identities. Two of the men held their flashlights pointed directly at Weekes, while the other two kept their lights aimed at the ground. When Weekes challenged them to state their purpose for being on his land, the men remained completely silent, only staring him down. After several seconds of tense silence, one of the intruders shifted his flashlight away from Weekes to reveal a loaded handgun he was carrying.

Weekes recounted that he stood his ground, telling the intruders he had no fear and they could act if that was their plan. After a long, tense standoff, the group did not attack or rob him; instead, they silently moved past Weekes toward the back beach bordering his property. Moments later, Weekes said he heard what he is confident was a single gunshot. While Weekes’ wife — who remained on the phone throughout the entire encounter — alerted local family members, Weekes immediately contacted the Micoud District Police Service, which he confirmed arrived at the property within minutes to launch an investigation.

When asked if the incident could have been a case of mistaken identity, Weekes rejected the possibility entirely. His remote home is not marked on most casual maps, and accessing the private driveway requires intentional navigation through unmarked back roads. “You don’t stumble on this place by accident,” Weekes explained. “This was pre-planned. The whole point was to intimidate me. But I want to be clear: we will not be intimidated, and we are not leaving.”

Weekes, who now spends most of his time growing food to feed local food-insecure families and tending to trees on his property, says he has no personal conflicts that would explain the attack. “I haven’t harmed anyone. All I do now is dig in the dirt, plant, and spend time with my dogs. I’ve done nothing to anyone,” he said.

The incident comes amid a documented surge in violent crime across Saint Lucia, a trend Weekes called deeply disappointing for returning residents. “I’ve lived all over the world, and I’ve never had an encounter like this,” he said. “To come back home to do good work and face this? It’s devastating. But I also count my blessings — so many other people across the island haven’t survived similar encounters, so I’m grateful I’m here to talk about it today.”

As someone who has spent decades running social programs for vulnerable and marginalized Saint Lucian communities, Weekes said that quick law enforcement crackdowns will never solve the country’s crime crisis. Long-term, holistic change that brings together government, civil society, faith groups, and local communities is the only path forward, he argued.

Weekes stressed that people who commit crime are not outsiders to Saint Lucian society — they are members of our communities, shaped by the systems and gaps we all collectively allow to exist. “They didn’t come from another planet. They are us,” he said. “We can’t keep pointing fingers and blaming isolated neighborhoods. Crime is a national problem that we all share responsibility for fixing. When a child grows up without support, that’s our failure as a society, not just the failure of one community.”

Even though the incident has left him feeling less secure than when he first returned home, Weekes says he has no plans to leave the country he has spent his career advocating for. “Home is where the heart is. I did all my work for Saint Lucia from abroad for decades — why would I leave now that I’m back?” he said. “Being here on the ground lets me speak to these issues firsthand, in a way I never could when I was living overseas.”

Weekes acknowledged that he does not have a single step-by-step plan to end crime, but he remains optimistic that collective action can reverse the current trend of rising violence. “It’s not naive to believe we can build a Saint Lucia free of violent crime. It can happen — we just have to commit to working together to make it real,” he said. He pointed to intergenerational change as the core of any long-term solution, noting that the old African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” still holds true. “I was raised by a whole village that looked out for me. Today, that village doesn’t function like it used to,” he said. “We have to rebuild that support system if we want to stop children from growing into people who commit violence. If we don’t put a long-term plan in place now, by 2030 this crisis will be far worse than it is today. We can’t keep ignoring the problem and repeating the same failed approaches.”