Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith has named former Opposition Senator AJ Nicholson as the People’s National Party (PNP) member who sent her harassing emails, one of which was entitled, “rape, real rape’.
Johnson Smith had made the revelation during a sitting of the Upper House on April 23 as parliamentarians discussed the mishandling of the George Wright scandal and gender-based violence.
Johnson Smith had not named the harasser but said she reported the matter to the police at the time.
“I think about the fact that there was a member, a colleague of yours, on that side who had started to send me harassing emails and who I had to report to the police,” she said.
“And I decided not to go public with it either and it was a struggle because I said this could be helpful for women to see someone taking an action when they feel vulnerable…me saying if I feel vulnerable, imagine someone who doesn’t have the kind of support (that) I have around me that I do,” stated Johnson Smith.
Several members of the opposition had asked that Johnson Smith name her harasser. During a sitting of parliament today, May 14, Opposition Senator, Lambert Brown, demanded that Senator Kamina Johnson Smith issue a statement and clarify the issue.
Johnson Smith responded by naming AJ Nicholson as the person in question. She also revealed that the e-mails were sent to her on August 6 and September 23 of the year 2018.
She said Nicholson accused her of being a liar and told her that he was satisfied that his e-mail had made her uncomfortable and had “hit the spot”.
Johnson Smith said fear and a desire not to distract from her work in the ministry caused her not to pursue the case. However, she said she had sent Nicholson a cease and desist and informed the police that she would revisit the case if Nicholson continued to harass her.
