BY OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 11, 2018 — I do not know just how factual the story is about an alleged sting operation accusing high-ranking members of the Bahamas Immigration Department of accepting bribes, but based on the reports supposedly written by Youri Kemp, who claims to be an Associate Editor for Caribbean News Now, although he lives in Nassau, he does not seem to be able to get some basic information correct about who currently heads the Immigration Department.
Here’s an excerpt from a story that appears under his byline in the Caribbean News Now published online on November 11, 2018, under the heading, THIRD BAHAMAS IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL NAMED IN US VISA SCANDAL:
“Shortly after the story initially broke in the Tribune newspaper, but before Caribbean News Now obtained and published the FBI affidavit in question, which implicates current director of immigration, William Pratt, and his immediate predecessor, Clarence Russell, in accepting bribes, Pratt, in a televised interview, told reporters that arrests will occur in the matter once his internal investigations are .complete.
“Pratt did not, however, acknowledge that he was himself implicated in the FBI affidavit.”
Obviously, Mr. Kemp is so careless in his reporting that he does not even know who is the “current director of immigration” and who is his “immediate predecessor.”
Having been Editor of two major newspapers in The Bahamas, I am appalled that the Editors of Caribbean News Now have allowed an obviously unqualified journalist to make such damaging accusations against high-level Bahamian immigration officials without even knowing who is whom.
This is at best the epitome of shoddy journalism, and the powers-that-be at Caribbean News Now should take immediate steps to correct the misinformation they have allowed their online news publication to publish.
For the record, Clarence A. Russell is the current Director of Immigration and not the “immediate predecessor” of William Pratt, whom he replaced a Director of Immigration.
My interest in the claims being made in the purported affidavit about bribes being paid to immigration officials was heightened by the fact that I know Clarence A. Russell very well and I absolutely do not believe that he is in anyway involved in the accusations that are being made.
I lived in Freeport, Grand Bahama, for 12 years prior to coming to Washington, D.C., to become the Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager at The Bahamas Embassy, and during those 12 years, Mr. Russell and I were both dedicated members of Mary Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church and we interacted with each other every Sunday at Mass.
He was a well-respected member of the Grand Bahama community as a career member of the Royal Bahamas Police Force before being appointed to head the Passport Office in Freeport, where did a remarkable job in transforming that government department once plagued with problems into a well-run government entity prior to being appointed Director of Immigration in December of 2017.
Knowing him as well as I do, I would be very surprised if there is a smidgen of truth about his involvement in what is being alleged. Youri Kemp’s journalistic faux pas makes the information even less credible.
