People’s National Party (PNP) standard-bearer in the St Catherine South Eastern constituency, Dr Alfred Dawes says he was poisoned last year. The popular doctor claimed that the intended victim was a PNP colleague as part of a politically motivated plot to tarnish his image after he had entered representational politics.

Dawes made the shocking allegation while addressing Comrades at a PNP meeting at Waterford High School on Sunday. He had previously denied reports that he was poisoned, but said he felt compelled to now reveal “the battles I have been fighting silently”.

According to Dawes, the incident occurred at a meeting he attended with a female colleague.

Recounting the incident, he said his female colleague had ordered a meal. However, he said before dropping her off after the meeting, the colleague gave him the meal saying “My MP you haven’t eaten since morning, better you eat it”.

He said while eating the food he became sick and ended up at the hospital.

“The plan was never for me to eat that food, it was for her to eat that food and they were hoping that I would be rushing a dead female to the hospital and the scandal that ensued would destroy my name,” Dr Dawes charged.

“And then the police, everytime I spoke to senior members of the police, reporters would be calling with the same information I gave the police, so I knew this was not a plot from South East (St Catherine), this was something bigger,” he continued. “There is a group of people who will not stop, even if it is murder of an innocent (person), not to destroy me but they need to destroy my name.”

According to Dawes, he deliberately withheld the information from the leadership of the party and even his own family.

He said blood tests at the hospital revealed that he suffered liver and kidney damage which he said “cemented everything that I was poisoned.”

Dawes has faced fierce resistance, including reported death threats, since he was selected last year to represent the PNP in St Catherine South Eastern in the next general election.

Amid anger from PNP supporters in the constituency over the party’s choice of Dawes as its standard-bearer for the next general election, arsonists attempted to destroy the PNP constituency office.

READ: ‘I never planned to use that office’

Dawes has also reported that individuals have called him and threatened the life of him and his family.

But, Dawes has repeatedly said he will not back down.