By Latrishka Thomas
The criminal proceeding against former education minister Michael Browne has gone one step further as the case has now been sent up the High Court.
Yesterday, Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel-Edwards declared that there is sufficient evidence against the Member of Parliament for All Saints West to commit the matter to be tried in the higher court.
The prosecution subsequently proceeded to tender six pieces of evidence which will be used against Browne, should the matter go to trial.
Those exhibits include WhatsApp messages, call records, screenshots from Facebook messenger with photos, etc.
The documents were verified by both Browne and his lawyer, Jarid Hewlett, who made no objections.
Now, the case could be called in the High Court any time after September and should Browne plead not guilty to the two charges against him, he will be put on trial.
The prosecution also indicated that there are eight witnesses that could potentially be called in the MP’s trial.
The 44-year-old accused was arrested and charged in November last year. Those charges cannot be disclosed for legal reasons.
He was granted bail in the sum of $15,000 with a $6,000 cash component when he made his first appearance in the All Saints Magistrate’s Court in late November 2020.
The MP was also ordered to surrender his travel documents, and report to the police three times every week.
Browne would have told his constituents in December last year that he is innocent, and that the charges against him were “an attempt to impute my character and person”.
