“I think it’s within my right for all of us young people, whether you’re a politician or whether you’re not a politician, whether you’re a banker, whether you’re a physician, a doctor, a lawyer, I think that every single one of us here can go to a banking institution and get a loan,” said Gros Islet MP Kenson Casimir as he rebuffed allegations of corruption following a land purchase he made in 2024.
The controversy came to a head on January 26th, 2025, “Unitedpac Saint Lucia” questioned Casimir’s purchase of a parcel of land at Massade, Gros Islet.
On Monday, Casimir confirmed that he, indeed, purchased the land, but denied any allegation of wrongdoing, clarifying that he took a loan to pay the property.
“As a Saint Lucian, I feel that it’s within my purview that if I have a particular amount of savings or a particular amount of connection with banking institutions, I can take out a loan,” he said to inquiring journalists.
The MP expressed his disappointment in the efforts of his opponents to tarnish his name and says this sort of political conduct can discourage youth from entering elective politics.
“In me going to a bank, applying for a loan and being granted a loan to purchase a piece of Saint Lucia, for UWP to take that document and to post it on social media as if something untoward is happening, I think it’s disgraceful and it’s an element that can discourage young people from getting involved in politics.”
Casimir says he is exploring the avenues available to him to find redress against what he calls malicious posts: “I have explored all my options and I continue to explore all my options in terms of how I deal with this going forward because my personal information has been published in the public sphere,” he said.
Casimir confirmed that the purchase of the property was finalised in October 2024.