A keyring is the object alleged to have been used in the injury sustained by Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves when he walked through a crowd of protesters on the street at White Chapel on August 5th.
Hours after Gonsalves was struck in his head, fifty-six year old Annamay Lewis of Layou was taken into custody. She was charged two days later with wounding Prime Minister Gonsalves with intent.
When she appeared before the Kingstown Magistrate Court on August 9th, she pleaded not guilty to the charge, trial was set for September 15 and the prosecution was asked to disclose evidence to the defence.
Days before she was due to return to court for trial, Lewis was arrested again and this time charged with throwing missile to the danger of the public.
When she appeared in court she pleaded not guilty to the new charge, the matter was adjourned to the same day (September 15) of her trial for wounding Prime Minister Gonsalves and the prosecution was ordered to disclose evidence to the defence by September 13.
Interestingly, defence lawyers Kay Bacchus-Baptiste and Israel Bruce held a press conference one day before the scheduled trials and told reporters that the prosecution had disclosed their evidence in relation to the second charge and not in relation to the wounding of Prime Minister Gonsalves.
They further said they had come to the conclusion that the prosecution did not have the requisite evidence and so would withdraw that charge. So said, so done.
When the matter was called on September 15, the prosecution withdrew the charge.
During an interview one week later, when he was being asked to respond to comments Lewis made at a press conference, chief detective superintendent Clauston Francis suggested to a journalist that Lewis be asked if it wasn’t “a keyring” she threw and “not a stone.”
Weeks ahead of Francis’ suggestion, it was understood that a keyring was the object suspected to have struck Prime Minister Gonsalves in his head, resulting in an injury for which he was flown to Barbados for an MRI scan.
The chief detective’s suggestion of the question of the keyring strengthened what was suspected to be the object ( a keyring) hurled by Lewis.
Gonsalves injury was regarded by some people as an “assassination” plan. His parliamentary colleagues on his side said it was “an attempt.”
Meanwhile, Lewis is to reappear in court in January next year for the trial concerning the throwing of missile to the danger of members of the public at White Chapel on August 5th, 2021.
