Elson Kaseke is no longer Belize?s SolGen

Word out of the Attorney General ministry tonight is that the contract of Solicitor General Elson Kaseke will not be renewed. News Five understands that Kaseke’s agreement with Belmopan expired earlier this month but the Musa administration has declined to retain his services. In a statement to this press today, Attorney General Francis Fonseca maintained that Kaseke?s competence was not a factor in the decision rather “the decision was made on both sides”. According to Fonseca, “Mr. Kaseke felt that it was time for him to move on as well and we felt that it was an opportunity for us to have a new beginning”. Kaseke has been Belmopan’s top lawyer and legal administrator for the past five years, a role he assumed from Gian Ghandi. But the attorney himself has made headlines, first after he was arrested in July 2004 on board an American Airlines flight … he was later charged with two misdemeanours: obstruction of justice and interfering with the operation of an aircraft. More recently however, Kaseke’s ethics were called into question after the United Democratic Party publicly condemned the SolGen and Minister Godfrey Smith as two financial beneficiaries in BeliPo, the group contracted to manage the Companies Registry. While black and white proof has yet to emerge into the public domain to prove that allegation, the BeliPo contract has been cancelled and more than two and a half million dollars was returned to G.O.B. We understand that Kaseke will continue in his capacity as SolGen until the end of this month. As for a replacement, the A.G. would only say that until a permanent appointment can be made, a substitute from the bar will assume the duties as Solicitor General.