CORRUPTION IN DOMINICA'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM EXTENDS FAR BEYOND THE MALIK SKERRIT SCANDAL, TO THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR HERSELF

Director of Public Prosecutions SHERMA DALRYMPLE

Dominica readers have been sending in requests for more information about the MALIK SKERRIT case, where the son of the country's Prime Minister was rushed out of the country after he committed Manslaughter by motor vehicle, using a brand new diplomatic passport he was not authorized by law to possess. Our investigation has uncovered these disturbing details:

(1) Skerrit committed the criminal offense whilst driving a vehicle owned by PETRO CARIBE, the Venezuelan government oil company that sells petroleum to the Eastern Caribbean states on credit. No, he was not legally authorized to use the vehicle, which is restricted to employees of the company;Malik Skerrit has never been an employee of that Venezuelan entity, and remember, he has no valid driver's license to be behind the wheel of any motor vehicle. That specific vehicle was known to not be roadworthy, and should never have been in operation, according to my sources, which is direct evidence of criminal negligence. 

(2) This wasn't the first serious accident that the police and Public Prosecutor covered up for him. He previously was illegally driving a government vehicle when he was involved in major accident that was found to be his fault. The government vehicle was serious damaged, and yes, of course, it can only be driven by government employees, of which Malik Skerrit was not one. 

(3) Not only did the Dominica Police not charge him with Manslaughter, upon specific instructions from Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, they failed to conduct any criminal investigation of the fatal incident, even after the victim died in hospital, which makes a formal inquiry mandatory under Dominican law.

(4) We also know that the DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS,  SHERMA DALRYMPLE, personally directed that no file be opened involving Malik Skerrit. The DPP, as she is locally referred to, was appointed by the Prime Minister, and is widely known to follow his direction on charging matters, rather than the law. Before she became DPP, Dalrymple was allegedly involved in a scandal where USD$500,000 in drug proceeds was found in a house at Terre Plat, Portsmouth; her car was at the location, and the men whom the police said would have been investigated and charged but never were, were found to be driving her car. At that time she wasn’t yet the DPP; The corrupt Skerrit regime realized she was the perfect person to satisfy their illegal demands, since she was tainted just like the government, and the reason they made her their DPP.

It get worse; the DPP is in an intimate relationship with a notorious criminal known to be involved in narcotics trafficking and who has been involved in several drive-by shootings and extrajudicial executions. He has never been charged with any of these offenses, and has publicly bragged of his immunity from criminal prosecution, stating that he "has the DPP in his bed." Major prosecutions of narcotics traffickers in Dominica are extremely rare, notwithstanding that the country has major drug organized crime crews openly operating there. Our sources advise that all such cases, after they have been filed, are dismissed in court for failure of the DPP to prosecute them.

One final note for those readers who have sought more details regarding the late night arrival of drug-laden small aircraft at Dominica's airport, which were under the direct protection of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. The planes arrived every two weeks, between 11PM and 2AM, and large packages were unloaded, under the direct supervision of government employees; no other individuals were permitted to be on airport property during the arrival of those aircraft, which came directly from Venezuela. 

We will continue to investigate these matters, and report back to our readers further on these issues.