Leader Of The Opposition Says Penner Acquittal Is A Bitter Disappointment

Francis Fonseca

P.U.P. Leader Francis Fonseca got the news about Penner shortly after the former Minister of State walked out the door of the Belmopan Magistrate Court, indicted now only by public opinion.  He told News Five that it is a bitter disappointment, a travesty and a sad day for Belize. But Fonseca concedes that while it is all that, it is certainly no surprise. He says that the outcome of the Penner court saga was orchestrated by government.

Francis Fonseca, P.U.P. Leader

“I think it’s a sad day for justice in Belize; I think it is a sad day for all Belizeans. I think the individual most right-thinking Belizeans feel is directly responsible for the bastardization of our nationality, for the illegal sale of our passports and our nationality has simply walked free without having to answer any questions at all. So I think it is a sad day for the Belizean people. But I have to say that I am not shocked at all at this result. I believe that it has always the plan of the U.D.P. government. They have, it is well-documented, that every step of the way in this mater, they have obstructed and impeded any attempt to get a fair and proper investigation on this matter. At every step of the way, government has stood in the way of a proper and thorough investigation of this matter which would certainly have afforded COLA or anybody else the opportunity to properly prosecute this man. So I am not shocked at all. The fact is that this is not a question of a lack of evidence as I am sure it will be described…oh the case was thrown out because of a lack of evidence. There was plenty of evidence. The problem is and the problem has been for quite some time now that the relevant authorities who are responsible for collecting that evidence and producing that evidence and making that evidence available to the court have refused to do their job. That is the problem. We can’t stop now; I understand that COLA has indicated that they are likely to appeal this matter. They have twenty-one days in which to do so. We support them appealing this matter because just for the purposes of keeping it alive, not that anything will happen; not that there will be any change of heart or change of mind in the U.D.P. government and suddenly the evidence will be made available—we know that won’t happen—but we certainly agree that the matter has to be kept alive and we certainly are going to continue supporting COLA in its efforts to bring Mister Penner to justice.”