Playing dirty in the PNCR elections has typically been a low-key affair, despite being a popular tactic in politics worldwide. In the United States, in the era of #MeToo, a new and disturbing tactic seems to be sexual assault smear campaigns. It appears that sexual assault allegations are now central to the political tactics of some individuals.
Allegations were leveled against special counsel Robert Mueller while he was leading the investigation into the alleged Russian influence on former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. Allegations were also made against former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. When called upon to provide details of the alleged assaults, in both cases, the accusers retracted their stories.
President Joe Biden also faced allegations of sexual assault. In this case, the woman was a former employee in the US Congress and had interactions with President Biden while he was a Senator. In the middle of the 2020 presidential campaign, she alleged that the assault was committed against her in 1993. This story was explosive, but President Biden issued a strong denial. Reporters investigating the allegation interviewed several people who recalled the accuser speaking favorably of President Biden and her period of employment at the US Congress. It was also found that just days before making the allegation public, the accuser amended public social media posts that would have conflicted with the allegations she was planning to make.
It appears that the accuser had a political motive for making the allegations because she demanded that President Biden drop out of the presidential race. He did not and went on to win the election.
The sexual assault smear tactic has now made its way into the PNCR. A few days ago, a Facebook personality, Egland Gomes, alleged that the PNCR Leader asked Vanessa Kissoon, a person who is campaigning for one of the candidates running against the Leader, an inappropriate question with sexual connotations. For context, it must be stated that Gomes has been on a two-year campaign deriding the PNCR Leader. He alleged that Norton failed to hold the PPP accountable, that he is a drunkard, is unable to account for PNCR money, and is responsible for the decline of the Party. When the Party Leader secured 80% of the nominations, Gomes had a meltdown, claiming it was all rigged. He persisted with his daily smears against the Party Leader. The inappropriate question allegations, therefore, did not come as a surprise because he was so obsessed with Norton it bordered on being unhealthy.
The Party Leader denied the allegations and called on Vanessa Kissoon to address this issue. Ms. Kissoon has since made a public statement saying there was an incident, albeit somewhat different from the account given by Gomes, who claimed he spoke with Kissoon.
Cornell Law Professor, in her article “What Does #BelieveWomen Mean?” stated that taking a woman’s claim seriously “in no way rules out a later conclusion that her claim is false.” In the case of President Biden’s accuser, one writer said that her case was not just non-credible, but also without merit. These conclusions were possible because, when the allegations were examined closely, and questions asked, many flaws were found.
Regarding the Vanessa Kissoon allegations, some questions must be asked:
- When and where did the incident allegedly occur? Was it in Linden after a funeral or in Ruimveldt Industrial Estate after a campaign event in Georgetown.
- How was the Leader able to show her the gun strapped to his foot while sitting in a car?
- What happened after the Leader allegedly asked her the offending question and she responded? Did she exit the vehicle or did the journey continue?
- Why didn’t she reveal this alleged incident during the 2021 campaign for Leader when she was supporting Richard Van West Charles?
- Why didn’t she cite this alleged incident as the reason the Leader did not agree to make her deputy mayor of Linden, but instead claimed that he would not have disqualified a man in the same circumstances?
- Given that for the last eighteen months person has been making daily social media posts maligning the Leader, why did she relate the alleged incident to him, a person who is not known to be her friend, if her motive was not for him to make what she said public?
As in the case of President Biden’s accuser, the accusation itself does not establish fact. Allegations of sexual misconduct, even if just an inappropriate question, can have serious implications. For these reasons, each claim must be reviewed in detail and the appropriate questions asked of the accuser to ensure a fair and thorough process that would distinguish between genuine grievances and politically motivated smears.