Attorney Says Disproving Someone’s Residence Can Be Difficult

Dickie Bradley

Bradley says that in law, it is difficult to prove to a court that someone does not live at a particular address because of the very nature of what the word “reside” can be defined as. While Barrow’s voters who showed up to court to defend him had the need arise, they did not wish to speak with the media. Bradley explained that a person’s residence can be determined by a number of ways.

Dickie Bradley, Attorney for Shyne Barrow

“It’s a hard thing for anybody to try to prove that a voter does not live in a jail. Once the owner of the house come, once you di rent a house and the person you di rent it from, the landlord or the landlady come and say, I di rent it to someone such a person, who wa tell I nuh di rent to dehn? Once somebody di live eena the house say, yeah man, when I get up da morning, I see he di brush ih teeth pahn the veranda. Who wa say dehn nuh see that? So, the matter is laid to rest.

We’re dealing with the court and the court not dealing with shu-shu-shu, yerisoh, bad mind, good mind, politics, and soh. The court deal in facts. And in fact, one of the hard things about voters’ list in Belize is who can come and see that I nuh live da mi sweetheart – I mean – this is not personal – that somebody nuh live da dehn sweetheart house. Who could come say that? The sweetheart could say it if another family member is there, but how an outsider could come and say, you nuhu live deh? It mean that, I the pay the water bill, I the pay the light bill, I the rent the place. Honourable Shyne has a contract where he is, in fact, the leasee of the place, you know. The point is that, under the law in Belize, nothing has, nothing has come to see or to prove that Honourable Shyne does not live at that address.”