Who is Dennis Fitzroy Semple or Akeem Haleem Abdul Nur El who has been living in Barbados for the past 11 years, having come from Guyana on October 2, 2007? There is no departure record for him.
This situation was highlighted in the Bridgetown Traffic Court presided over by Magistrate Graveney Bannister, as the 40-year-old barber of Fairholme Gardens, Christ Church, pleaded guilty to five traffic offences. These arose from an incident on February 4 at Melrose Apartments, Worthing, Christ Church.
The accused faced charges that he was the owner of a car with registration S7237 which had not been registered with the Barbados Licensing Authority and that he fraudulently allowed the registration number to be used. He was fined $400 on each of the offences. For driving the car without insurance he was fined $1,000 and for refusing to give his name and address to the police when requested to do so and having no driver’s licence he was fined $500 each.
The fines must be paid by February 15 or he will spend 100 days in jail.
In outlining the facts, Prosecutor PC Kevin Forde said the matter arose out of an incident at Melrose Apartments and when asked to give his name and address, the barber said: “I live in my body. I am a citizen of earth.”
When told it was an offence not to give his address, he replied: “I don’t have an address. I live in my body. I am a citizen of earth.”
In asking the court not to grant bail, the prosecutor noted that the barber was uncooperative and there were on-going investigations concerning drug charges. Attorney-at-law, Ryan Moseley counsel for the non-national, noted that he was a first time offender, gave an early guilty plea and had been operating his barber business here for the past eight years.
It was then revealed by police that the accused had submitted a Guyana passport, which was not authenticated by the Guyana Consulate in Barbados, and furthermore he had refused to be processed. The magistrate ordered that he be processed.
Inspector Vernon Farrell from the Major Crimes Unit at the Glebe Police Station, St George, said among other things, the accused claimed to be a member of the Moorish Divine and National Movement of the World which purports to have jurisdiction worldwide. In addition to giving members the privilege of changing their name, it also gives them free movement.
He said in a check with the United States Embassy here, officials said they had no knowledge of the association and further investigations revealed that it is a radical sect.
The accused is also facing drug charges which are unlawful possession of 1 kg. of cannabis worth $4 000, trafficking, intent to supply and having apparatus.
These matters have been transferred to the Oistins Court and are set to be heard on February 15. In the meantime, the non-national has been remanded to prison.
