All but one of the six Jamaicans who were presented with the nation’s fifth highest honour, the Order of Jamaica (OJ), at the 2026 Ceremony of Investiture and Presentation of National Honours and Awards at King’s House Monday morning, were present to accept their award.

The exception was former minister of national security and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) stalwart Derrick Smith, whose son Duane accepted on his behalf.

The other recipients of the coveted honour were former Bank of Jamaica Governor Richard Byles; Minister of Energy, Transport and Telecommunications Daryl Vaz; Chief Executive Officer of Sagicor Group Jamaica Christopher Zacca; philanthropist Donette Chin-Loy Chang; and former Government minister Maxine Henry-Wilson.

All six were vested by Governor General Sir Patrick Allen in a change of format which saw awardees grouped together on the dais, instead of walking individually to collect their award.

The elder Smith retired from representational politics in 2018 due to health reasons after serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for the St Andrew North Western seat for 29 years. He first won the seat in the 1989 general election; his last win came in 2016. He was replaced in 2028 by former Minister of Finance Nigel Clarke in a by-election. Clarke’s subsequent resignation to accept the job of Deputy Managing Director at the International Monetary Fund in October 2024, paved the way for Duane to replace his father in a seat he long had his eyes on.

After winning the by-election in 2024, Duane was elected to his first full-term as MP in the September 2025 general election.

-Lynford Simpson