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Opposition MP “traumatized” following alleged assault by Minister McCoy
Opposition MP, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley
Kaieteur News – Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, relayed yesterday during a media briefing that she remains “traumatized” after the alleged assault committed on her by Public Affairs Minister, Kwame McCoy. The Opposition Parliamentarian said too that she is not ruling out bringing private charges against him.
Seated beside her husband, a teary Halley gave her account of what transpired during the ordeal, noting that on Wednesday, during the 2021 Budget Estimate considerations, she had observed Keith Lowenfield, Chief Elections Officer (CEO), being harassed by Minister McCoy and others on the corridors of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).
The MP stated that she had signalled to Lowenfield to leave the ACCC and avoid confrontation, but this led to Minister McCoy following her with his phone.
Seconds later, the MP said McCoy struck her to the temple with the mobile device.
Halley relayed as well that she has since obtained a medical, which revealed that she suffered “head trauma.” With regards to video evidence, the MP stated that no camera was pointing in the direction where the incident occurred. This aligns with statements made by the Prime Minister, Mark Phillips, who had disclosed that camera footage that was reviewed in his presence and that of other Opposition MPs revealed no indication of physical assault. The police will now have to rely on eyewitness accounts of the alleged assault to complete their investigations.
Yesterday’s press conference was the first public interaction the MP made since the incident.
On Wednesday evening, the Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon, at a press conference condemned McCoy’s actions and demanded an apology from the MP.
He however remained tight-lipped regarding the details of the alleged assault.
According to Harmon, there were several witnesses to the incident, but he declined to indicate whether the witnesses were Government or Opposition MPs or even staffers of the Parliament Office.
Harmon told the press, “I don’t have to tell you who are these witnesses. They are witnesses who the police took statements from. These are people who actually saw what happened. It doesn’t matter where they are from.”
Further to that, when the media insisted on obtaining more details of the incident, the Opposition’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Imran Khan, cautioned against turning the press conference “into an investigation” as that is the role of the police.
Khan told the media that, “What I find very concerning is the fact that we seem to want to execute an investigation before we do any reportage on an issue. The facts are before you. A Member of Parliament has made an allegation that she was assaulted by another Member of Parliament. One does not need any further facts to report that in the newspaper.”
Meanwhile, Minister McCoy, in a statement denied the assault allegations. He did admit however to a verbal altercation.
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