Former government minister and highly regarded attorney KD Knight has claimed in a lawsuit that Jamaica Labour Party campaign manager Dr Christopher Tufton damaged his good for political mileage by publishing a doctored voice clip at a JLP mass rally in Half-Way Tree on Sunday, August 10.

Knight filed the defamation lawsuit in the Supreme Court on Thursday, August 21, after Tufton failed to retract and publicly apologise, as demanded by a letter issued on Wednesday, August 13, for publishing the clip which pertains to People’s National Party President Mark Golding.

The deadline for the apology was 11:00 am on Friday, August 15.

Tufton had doubled down on his position about the voice clip, despite Knight insisting publicly, and by way of a letter, that it was doctored and the words taken out of context.

“The defendant published or caused to be published the said defamatory words knowing that they are false or reckless, not caring whether they were true or false, and/or having calculated that the benefit to the JLP in terms of political mileage and increase in votes for his political party would outweigh any damage done to the claimant’s reputation,” noted the suit filed by the lawfirm Knight, Junor & Samuels.

The lawsuit said that no apology had been tendered up to the date of the suit’s filing and that the defamatory statement remains on the Web and various social media platforms associated with the JLP.     

“The defendant, having been given the original audio recording by journalist and attorney-at-law Dionne Jackson Miller, maintained his defamatory position, deciding to take the political advantage and benefit that he and his party gained from the publication of the defamatory statement,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that Tufton prejudiced Knight’s right to enjoy a good character and to enjoy his right to hold his political opinion in breach of section 13 (1)(c) and also section 13 (3)(i)(iii).

The lawsuit didn’t specify a figure, but it is claiming damages for defamation, including exemplary and aggravated damages, vindicatory damages, with interest, attorneys’ costs associated with the lawsuit, and any such further relief as the court deems fit.