Patrick Atkinson, one of the attorneys representing Member of Parliament for North East St. Elizabeth Kern Spencer, got me so very upset Tuesday night when he accused the media of having embarked on a witch-hunt of his client.

He made these statements shortly after police officially laid charges against Spencer and two alleged cohorts, Rodney Chin and Colleen Wright, for their suspected roles in the purported misappropriation of hundreds of millions of dollars during the distribution of 'free' light bulbs Jamaica received from Cuba. This money, mind you, belongs to you and me, and Mr. Atkinson too, since I would assume he pays his taxes.

Mr. Atkinson's statements infuriate me because every time a public official gets in a bind it's almost as if they expect a free pass. The police, too, are guilty of giving the powerful special privileges. Diversionary tactics are employed when they are to be taken off to jail, long forgotten rules are brought into effect at court proceedings and many other legal gimmicks are used to 'protect' them.

But, who protects us? If the accused in this instance was some little man from Tivoli or Arnett or from somewhere like Hanover, would he be afforded the same allowances? I think we all know the answer to that question.

However, let me get back to Mr. Atkinson's unfortunate use of the term 'witch-hunt'. When the whole matter became public it did so on the back of statements made in the Auditor General's report that something was amiss with regard to the distribution of the "free" light bulbs. These statements were similar to ones made by the Contractor General, who recommended that the matter be handed over to the police for investigation. Minister of Energy Clive Mullings also called for an investigation and through it all, the most prominent name, was Kern Spencer. So where exactly is this witch-hunt, Mr. Atkinson?

The way I see it, Mr. Atkinson should consider his client fortunate that he won't be tried in China because if he was found guilty there, this so-called 'witch-hunt' would be the least of his worries.

Deputy party secretary

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that in China a Communist Party official Huang Yuhui, a deputy party secretary of He County in the Southern Guangxi Region, was executed for leading a group of people that obtained US$50,000 from fraud and bribery. Granted, Mr. Spencer is innocent until proven guilty and his guilt has not yet been established in a court of law.

As the world of politics goes, Mr. Spencer is not untouchable. As I remember it, President Bill Clinton, easily the most likeable president the United States has had, perhaps since John Kennedy, was investigated for his role in the White Water Scandal, and for his part in the Monica Lewinsky ordeal and a few other sordid cases. Many consider him lucky that he was not successfully impeached and jailed.

Kern Spencer is also a public official and apparently well liked by the people of his constituency. But he has become embroiled in a major case involving the reported misuse of millions of dollars in public funds. He has been slapped with a laundry list of charges longer than my arm. So Mr. Atkinson, next time choose your words carefully. You're an attorney and presumably, a reputable one, you should know better

In a country where almost 80 cents of every dollar earned goes towards paying and servicing debt, every dollar counts and in my view much of those dollars end up in the pockets of corrupt individuals, corruption is, therefore, a matter for all of us to be concerned about. While Mr. Spencer has not, up to this point, been proven to have committed any acts of corruption, the media, nevertheless, has the responsibility of informing the public about all allegations of corruption especially when tax payers dollars are involved. As I say this let me just add that I do understand that Mr. Atkinson has to put forward a stout and resolute defence of his client - that is what he is being paid to do - but in doing so, he should steer clear of vilifying the media because we did not put Mr. Spencer in this position. He did so all by himself and with the help of a few friends.

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