KINGSTON, Jamaica – Nationwide’s boss, Cliff Hughes, confirmed on radio yesterday that he has sought the intervention of former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller in an effort to end what he said is the constant harassment of senior political reporter Abka Fitz-Henley. 

This followed Thursday’s altercation close to Gordon House when, it is alleged that Fitz-Henley, who was covering the swearing-in of the members of the House of Representatives, was attacked by a number of “orange-clad supporters of the People’s National Party (PNP)”.

According to Fitz-Henley, after covering the swearing-in, he was walking to a parking lot close to Gordon House, where his motor car was parked, when he noticed a group of “orange-clad PNP supporters” standing in the vicinity of the vehicle.

He said that one man, dressed in orange and white, summoned the crowd by shouting: “Si him ya. A him a pressure Portia! A dem a pressure wi. Him a tweet out PNP business. A him.”

It is understood that several other orange-clad individuals converged on the area shouting, “no media round here” as well as other comments unfit to be reported.

Fitz-Henley said he turned around and walked back towards the entrance to Gordon House to seek the assistance of protection officers to retrieve his car. However, the protestors started throwing objects at him. He said that he was hit in the back, by one of the objects which, he said, felt like a small stone.

The Jamaica Observer reported shortly after the February 25 general election that Fitz-Henley had been assigned an armed private security guard during the election period, after threats were made against his life.

According to information obtained by OBSERVER ONLINE, Fitz-Henley had been receiving threatening phone calls for some two to three weeks prior to the general election. The calls included one from a “male voice” which warned him, “Gunshot fi yu. Dead yu a go dead. Stop f… roun’ PNP business”.

Fitz-Henley has been a senior reporter at Nationwide for the past five years and co-hosts the station’s evening news programme Nationwide@5.

Balford Henry