Dorsett Launches Suit Against Govt.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Former Progressive Liberal Party Cabinet Minister Kenred Dorsett is suing the Attorney General and Contractor Jonathan Ash, alleging malicious prosecution, unlawful arrest, and injury to his personal and professional reputation.

Jared Higgs tells us the lawsuit comes a month after the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions dropped its corruption case against Dorsett.

Dorsett was charged in 2017 with extorting $120,000 from Jonathan Ash.

Attorney General Ryan Pinder said the case against Dorsett was dropped, “because the key witness in the case refused to testify without being paid.”

Dorsett is seeking damages inclusive of aggravated and exemplary damages; compensation, including vindicatory damages; interest; and costs from the Attorney General and Ash .

He alleges that he was unlawfully arrested and imprisoned for three days.

He further alleges malicious prosecution, “in respect of multiple spurious charges of extortion, bribery, and misconduct in public office which malicious prosecution ended on March 11, 2022”.

Dorsett also alleges that he suffered economic loss and damage including “injury to his reputation generally and in his profession as an attorney, and as an entrepreneur.”

In 2017, Dorsett, Former Minister of Labour and National Insurance Shane Gibson, and former Senator and Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) Chairman Frank Smith were arrested and accused of abusing their office for financial gain in separate matters. They were charged months after the PLP was voted out of office.

Gibson was charged with 15 counts of bribery in respect to $280,000 that he was accused of receiving from Ash in exchange for approving payments totaling $1 million for work done following the cleanup efforts in the aftermath of hurricane Matthew in 2016.

Smith was charged with abusing his position as PHA Chairman after the award of a $516,000 contract to Barbara Hanna, the owner of Magic Touch Cleaning, to clean the critical care unit of Princess Margaret Hospital.

Gibson and Smith were both acquitted.

At the time, PLP Leader Philip Davis objected to the charges made against the former PLP parliamentarians, arguing that they should never have been brought.

Dorsett’s attorney, Damian Gomez, said that the experience has been a nightmare for his client, who he says has been blackballed by the banks.