Imbert sues Congress of the People candidate for defamation

FORMER minister Colm Imbert is seeking compensation from a political rival for defamation.

Imbert’s claim against Gerrard Small, a radio announcer and the 2025 St Ann’s East candidate for the Congress of the People (COP), was filed on election day, April 28.

The lawsuit stems from a Facebook post in which Small referenced Imbert by name and publicly criticised his explanation of the now controversial revenue understatement of the public accounts for the 2023 financial year.

Imbert, who previously served as finance and public utilities minister and is now the vice-chairman of the PNM, asserts that the post has harmed his reputation and personal standing. According to the claim, Imbert has served as a member of Parliament for over 33 years, including numerous cabinet appointments, and holds multiple degrees in engineering, law, and finance.

His lawsuit argues that the social media post, which was widely viewed and shared, exposed him to ridicule and damaged his professional integrity. Imbert also contends that the post encouraged further negative commentary and that Small failed to retract or remove the statements despite a pre-action protocol letter sent earlier in April. Imbert is requesting general, aggravated, and exemplary damages, a court-ordered apology and retraction, and an injunction to prevent further publication of the disputed remarks.

The lawsuit said the defamatory posts were widely seen, read and shared and also encouraged commentators to make further defamatory statements, yet Small chose not to delete the posts, although he had control over his social media platform.

“Despite not having a shred of evidence to support his defamatory posts, the defendant actively encouraged his followers to ‘like, share and comment’... and reaffirmed his defamatory allegations when asked if they were true, although he knew them to be untrue.”

“The allegations the defendant made are all false, disparaging, malicious and defamatory.”

The case has been assigned to Justice Carol Gobin, and attorneys Farai Hove Masaisai, Chelsea Edwards and Mpule Williams represent Imbert.