Magistrate Michael Laudat has granted Dr. Thomson Fontaine leave to travel out of Dominica to South Sudan and return in December. When his case came up for hearing on Monday, August 22, acting Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Sherma Dalrymple told the court that one of the major prosecutors, Daniel Khan, was absent due to travel difficulties from Trinidad.
Fontaine’s lawyer, Cara Shillingford-Marsh, requested the court to modify the bail conditions of her client and allow him to return to South Sudan where he is employed as a policy adviser to the African government. After Dalrymple and Shillingford-Marsh agreed to an adjournment, Judge Laudat approved the request and agreed for Fontaine to leave Dominica on August 29 and return on December 9, 2022.
The former UWP senator is on trial with other opposition leaders for inciting a riot against the government in Roseau on February 7, 2017. Although the case against others has been dismissed, Fontaine remains charged and is on $750,000 bail. Shillingford-Marsh pushed for his bail on the premise that being detained in Dominica will make him lose his government job in South Sudan.
This is not the first time Fontaine’s case will be adjourned; the economic adviser violated his bail conditions in May and July when he failed to report to the court. His lawyer cited travel difficulties from Africa, and when he did, he failed to surrender his travel documents to the court as required in his bail.
Although Judge Laudat did not revoke his bail on the two violations, he has been allowed to travel out of the country again and to surrender his travel documents to the court on his return in December.
Meanwhile, the policy adviser and former opposition senator continue to berate the DLP administration for perceived misgovernance in Dominica. He decried the level of inflation in the country and urged the government to raise salaries and wages across the board to enable citizens to deal with the rising costs of living. He also blames the current administration for economic failures, poor security, rising unemployment, and fallen standards of living among others.
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