Mussington reacts to solicitor-general and threat of sedition charge, saying Cabinet will not be allowed to circumvent the law
“Bizarre” is how Barbuda Councilman John Mussignton describes the intervention of Solicitor-General Martin Camacho on the matter of the ownership of lands on Barbuda.
Last week, Camacho penned a letter to the Chairman of the Barbuda Council and to Mussington, giving his legal opinion on the sister-island’s system of communal land ownership.
Accordingly, the Browne Cabinet has expressed its intention to have the Barbuda Land Act, 2007, expunged and make way for the sale of land on that island.
The authorities, meanwhile, have also warned Mussington – the chairman of the Barbuda People’s Movement (BPM) – that his published opinions on the matter amount to sedition (incitement to rebellion) and have threatened to charge him.
Mussington says he is unsure why the solicitor general is writing letters expressing his legal opinion on matters relating to Barbuda lands and says that it is suspect that it is coming after his interview.
According to Mussington, it seems that the Gaston Browne Administration wants to usurp the Barbuda Local Government Act, which is enshrined in the Constitution and determines under whose responsibility land matters fall.
However, the new councilman says, the authorities will not be permitted to get around the existing legislation, for their personal enrichment, by creating a luxury real-estate market on Barbuda.
In the meantime, Mussington says he does not know why the Browne Administration is using the Solicitor-General’s Office in its effort to intimidate the people of Barbuda and claim their land.
