Published 28 August 2017
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
Chamber’s Nevis Division breaks silence on murder of Benjamin Joseph, fifth businessman gunned down in 2017
CHARLESTOWN, NEVIS, AUGUST 28TH 2017 – The shooting death of Nevisian businessman, Benjamin Joseph, has awakened a sleeping St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce, at least its Nevis Division.
With 18 murders including seven on Nevis for the year to date, the Chamber, the St. Kitts and Nevis Bar Association, the St. Kitts Business Forum, the St. Kitts Christian Council, the St. Kitts Evangelical Association, the Nevis Christian Council, the Nevis Christian Council, the Nevis Teachers Union and the St. Kitts Teachers Union have all remained silent on the murders, even though four other small businessmen and a teenager were brutally murdered before Joseph’s killing.
The Non-Governmental Organisations have remained totally silent when 39-year-old Venezuela-born Cash for Gold businessman, Luis Garcia, was shot and killed in January; the May murder Pizza businessman, Gregory Mills, who was shot and killed and the June double murder of two businessmen 41-year-old Sean “Spajal” Smith of Taylors and 46-year-old Dennis “Bun Up” Liburd of Mc Knight who were gunned down at Taylor’s Village, St. Kitts.
Not even the brutal murders of missing 17-year-old Leanna Napoleon or Darnell Govia who was killed in the J.N. France General Hospital eeked out statements from NGO’s.
The murder Benjamin Joseph is the fifth businessman to be killed this year.
A businesswoman was murdered in 2016 and five businessmen were killed in 2016, according to statistics.
The death of Joseph brings the number of murders in Nevis this year to 7 and a total of 18 in St. Kitts and Nevis. 18 murders were recorded in 2012; 21 murders in 2013; 24 murders in 2014; 30 murders in 2015; and 30 murders in 2016.
With the death of Joseph, owner of Philsha’s Guest House, President of the Nevis Division of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Mr. Ernie France, has expressed condolences to Mr. Joseph’s relatives.
“Mr. Joseph is a well known businessman here in the community in Nevis and probably more well known for his involvement with a quarry business which he operated for years in the Potworks area but in more recent times he operated and owned as I understand it, Philsha’s Guest House, in the Pinneys area here in Nevis. A very hard working gentleman and someone who goes about his business, works hard and operates his business. I have never known him to be involved in anything that is questionable and so it’s really very disconcerting to learn of his passing,” France told WINNFM in an interview.
“Yet again the Nevisian community and more specifically the business community has been thrust into a state of mourning on learning of the passing of Mr. Benjamin. The tragic event has left many persons shocked and dismayed and as a private sector body the Chamber is particularly troubled that this type of criminal activity where businessmen are targeted, shot and killed. It is very serious and it is very disconcerting and we are once again calling on the local and federal government to move expeditiously, even more expeditiously and with greater haste to ensure the execution of the plans that we have heard of to ensure that the citizens and the business communities of this country are protected from this type of criminal activity.”
Mr. France said the Chamber has encouraged its members to do all in their power to tighten security and the government has responded with duty free concessions for security apparatus.
He said the issue of personal security is now being seriously considered. Asked about the major deterrent to crime which is to catch and successfully prosecute assailants, Mr. France acknowledged that more has to be done to make criminals pay for their actions.
“The mechanism has to be in place to ensure that persons are convicted when caught, that even before that the training provided to our police officers and so on to ensure that the rate of detection of these crimes is improved and these people can be brought to justice. If the criminals know that they are gonna be caught I think they will think twice before committing these crimes, but when you know that there is a very high chance that you’re gonna get away I think they prefer to take that chance. And unfortunately what we are seeing is that a lot of them are getting away and a lot of these crimes are going unsolved.”
