IC recommends charges for three
Published:Thursday | October 9, 2025 | 12:11 AMKimone Francis/Senior Staff Reporter
The director of corruption prosecution has ruled that charges be laid against three councillors who failed to submit their statutory declarations on time, breaching the Integrity Commission Act (ICA).
People’s National Party councillor Keisha Lewis and former councillor Roogae Kirlew, as well as Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor Rohan Hall were recommended for charges for breaching Section 43(1)(a) of the ICA.
Lewis, councillor for the Lauriston Division in the St Catherine Municipal Corporation, failed to account for her financials in 2019, 2020, and 2022, an Integrity Commission investigative report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday stated.
Kevon Stephenson, director of investigation at the IC, said that Lewis failed, without reasonable cause, to file the statutory declarations.
Lewis was served a notice to discharge liability on September 14, 2023, the report said, and was given 21 days to pay a fixed penalty of $250,000 to Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) and submit the outstanding declarations.
However, the councillor reportedly submitted the outstanding financials on October 4, 2023, but failed to pay the penalties for the respective years, which totalled $750,000.
Stephenson subsequently referred the matter to the director of corruption prosecution.
Lewis has since indicated that she is addressing issues related to the statutory declarations.
In a statement yesterday, she said she was committed to upholding the principles of transparency and accountability.
“I am committed to always demonstrating these values in my role as an elected representative of the people,” she said.
Lewis said while the declarations were not initially filed on time, they were subsequently filed and certified within the time frame provided to her by the commission.
“However, a penalty was fixed due to the initial delay. I had believed that filing within the time frame specified by the IC’s officer would resolve the matter without adverse action, including the penalty. Notably, I did not receive any further communication from the IC with regard to the penalty, which contributed to the current situation. I am currently in the process of addressing this matter,” said Lewis in her statement.
Kirlew is also expected to face the court following a similar ruling by the director of corruption prosecution that he be charged for breaching the ICA.
The ruling accompanied an investigative report that was also tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, which concluded that Kirlew, councillor for the Mount Industry Division in the St Catherine Municipal Corporation, failed to file statutory declarations for three periods: 2019, 2020, and 2022.
The recommendation that he be charged follows a report from Stephenson which stated that a notice to discharge liability was served on Kirlew on September 14, 2023.
He was given 21 days to pay the $250,000 penalty and file the declarations.
The report said checks made with the Information and Complaints Division of the commission revealed that on October 19, 2023, Kirlew submitted the outstanding statutory declarations for 2019, 2020, and 2022. However, he failed to pay the fixed penalty of $250,000 for the respective years.
His case was referred to the director of corruption prosecution.
In the case of Hall, councillor for the Red Hills Division in the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation, he failed to file his statutory declaration for the December 2019 period, an indicative ruling tabled in Parliament on Tuesday said.
The ruling was accompanied by an investigative report, which was also tabled.
It indicated that Hall was served a notice to discharge liability on September 12, 2023 and given 21 days to pay a fixed penalty of $250,000 to the TAJ.
He was also to submit the outstanding declaration.
However, the councillor reportedly failed to do either of the two, Stephenson said, following checks with the Information and Complaints Division of the commission.
Stephenson said Hall provided no reasonable cause for failing to submit the declaration.
The case was referred to the director of corruption prosecution, who ruled that Hall be charged.