The Government has registered an objection to the appointment of Roneiph Lawrence as acting director of corruption prosecution at the Integrity Commission (IC) and has asked the new chair of the anti-corruption body to investigate the circumstances that led to the departure of two senior officials from the entity.

In a letter to retired Justice Carol Lawrence Beswick expressing serious concerns over the matters, Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives Edmund Bartlett and Government Senate Leader Kamina Johnson Smith asked the IC chair for her urgent intervention for a prompt and thorough interrogation of the matters to ensure that “fairness, professionalism, and justice are allowed to prevail at the Integrity Commission and to be seen to so prevail”.

In the matter relating to Lawrence, the two House leaders pointed to a social post on January 26 this year by People’s National Party (PNP) General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell which contained a photograph of him in the company of Lawrence at what purports to be Lawrence’s wedding.

“Dr Campbell provides context for this photo in his description of Lawrence as his friend of over 20 years, dating back to Chancellor Hall/university days,” Bartlett and Johnson Smith said in the letter seen by the Jamaica Observer.

Noting that Lawrence’s appointment at the IC is posted on the entity’s website, Bartlett and Johnson Smith assured Justice Beswick that they do not, for a moment, question Lawrence’s professional qualifications, nor do they question any individual’s constitutional right of affiliation or seek to interfere in the operations of the commission.

“However, as an eminent retired jurist you would well appreciate the fact that justice should not only be done but should be seen to be manifestly and demonstrably done. With respect to the Integrity Commission, the bar would undoubtedly be even higher,” they said in the letter.

They said that in late 2024 “Dr Campbell used used a political platform to make particular comments about a case which, it subsequently came to public attention, was being considered for pursuit by the Integrity Commission”.

“Furthermore, in circumstances where, prior to your assumption of the chair, actions and utterances of certain members of the executive leadership of the commission raised questions in the public domain regarding fairness and the appearance of bias within the institution, we believe the aforementioned matter should not be ignored,” the House leaders said.

They argued that the aforementioned context lends credibility to their concern that “given his publicly acknowledged close ‘mans of Block Aye’ two-decade-long friendship with the de facto chief executive officer of the PNP — who even appeared to be an integral participant at his nuptial” — any decision taken by Lawrence in respect of members of the political fraternity will certainly be open to question”.

Lawrence, who replaced Keisha Prince-Kameka, took up the key role a few days ago and under the Integrity Commission Act is now the final decision-maker on whether the commission elects to pursue criminal prosecution of public officials who are under investigation.

“We regrettably and unfortunately are therefore moved to register our serious concern regarding Mr Lawrence’s appointment as acting director of corruption prosecution at the Integrity Commission and his possible permanent appointment to the post,” Bartlett and Johnson Smith said.

They also said their concerns extend to media reports suggesting that the former director of corruption prosecution was pressured to not seek a renewal of her contract “due to a lawful decision she made”.

As such, they asked the IC chair to use her good office to investigate whether the former director of corruption prosecution “came under pressure due to her lawful decision; from whence did that pressure emanate; and the extent to which that alleged pressure may have contributed to her not seeking renewal in the post, despite her being widely known to be of excellent repute in the conduct of her profession to date”.

The two House leaders also said that if the investigation is conducted, they trust that it “will extend beyond persons currently holding positions which might themselves have been implicated in any such improper actions, should they have occurred”.

In relation to the other IC official whose departure has raised concern, Bartlett and Johnson Smith said that widely circulated reports in both traditional and social media suggest that the individual, a senior investigator, resigned from the commission after a statement she had submitted to the IC was excluded from a report it submitted to Parliament due to the intervention of an influential official at the commission.

“The reports suggest that the formal statement submitted by the investigator had raised serious concerns about unethical practices during the conduct of a certain probe of high public interest,” the House leaders noted in their letter to Justice Beswick.

“We again trust, and indeed respectfully suggest, that this matter be the subject of enquiry by the commissioners or, should greater independence be required in the interest of justice in the particular circumstances, any other relevant agency. More particularly, we believe that it might be useful, should enquiry be made as to whether these media reports are accurate, if so, whether the official who allegedly ensured the exclusion of the statement in question from the report to Parliament is still employed to the commission, and indeed whether the individual misconducted himself in public office,” they said.

Bartlett and Johnson Smith expressed confidence that the IC chair and her fellow commissioners would agree that the commission’s success “depends greatly on public confidence and trust, which cannot be sustained if there is a perception of bias or other improper conduct of its affairs”.

They assured Justice Beswick that the Government “unreservedly believes in the objectives” of the IC and desires its success.

They also said that it was because of the Administration’s belief in the institutional strengthening of the country’s governance frameworks that it not only passed the legislation to create the commission, but has also provided the requisite resources for its operation and towards its success.

“If that framework is allowed to be undermined by individuals within its confines, however, a great disservice will have been done to the taxpayers whose funds have been invested in our country’s future in this regard. We trust that truth and justice will prevail,” the House leaders said.