Prominent attorney, former Solicitor General and Chief Parliamentary Counsel of Belize, Dr. Elson Kaseke, 44, died on Tuesday evening, December 6, of an unspecified illness at a hospital where he was being treated in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
Dr. Kaseke, a native of Zimbabwe in Southern Africa and resident of Belmopan, had apparently been ailing for some time, but those we spoke to say they were not aware of what illness he had been suffering from.
Former colleague and former Attorney General and Minister of Government, Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith, recalls Dr. Kaseke as someone whose skills he admired and respected, and as having made a “meritorious, substantial contribution to law and justice” in Belize.
That contribution includes work as Chief Parliamentary Counsel; Commissioner of Law Review for the most recent revision of the Laws of Belize (2000-2003); and draftsman of the Supreme Court Rules, 2005. He was also instrumental in establishing the Laws of Belize on the Internet at the site www.belizelaw.org.
He was a participant in the Senate Select Committee on Social Security in 2005 and 2006, and served as Solicitor General from 2001 (replacing Edwin Flowers, SC, of Musa and Balderamos) to 2006.
Perhaps his greatest legal fame came after his departure from the post of Solicitor General, when he formed his own law firm, Kaseke and Company, in Belmopan.
He represented banker/businessman/attorney Glenn D. Godfrey when Godfrey testified at the 2006-07 Commission of Inquiry into the Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Godfrey, former DFC chair, maintained that the Commission was biased and illegal in conception, and he and Kaseke provided some drama as they took on Commissioners Merlene Bailey-Martinez, Justice Herbert Lord and Bailey’s personal counsel, Lois Young.
Representing Narda Garcia, former CEO of the Social Security Board, he won an acknowledgment from the court that the Senate Committee breached her right to natural justice by making recommendations adverse to her without giving her a fair chance to defend herself before finalizing its report.
Later, he would act as attorney for Mark Seawell, an accused drug trafficker fighting extradition to the United States.
He was second chair to Queen’s Counsel Vincent Nelson in the Sagis Investments Limited vs. Radio Krem Limited case in 2008 and 2009, concerning un-transferred shares from members of the board of directors of the radio station to the shadowy, Michael Ashcroft-allied firm operating from 60 Market Square — a case which was defeated by a ruling at the Supreme Court that was overturned at the Court of Appeal.
He also represented Mayor of Belize City Zenaida Moya-Flowers in her battle with the United Democratic Party (UDP) in 2009 after being criminally charged and being excluded from the UDP’s National Party Council; and most recently, the Football Federation of Belize in its battle with the National Sports Council and Minister John Saldivar to reverse decertification as a recognized sporting organization.
Dr. Kaseke held a Doctor of Laws (LLD) from the University of South Africa, specializing in intellectual property law, and a Master’s in Law (LLM) from the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill, Barbados, specializing in legislative drafting.
He was listed as a director of the Belize Intellectual Property Office (BELIPO), a privatized national registry for intellectual property which became the subject of controversy in 2005 when it was revealed that Government was losing several million dollars a year in revenue as a result of an agreement to split revenues in the Belize Companies Registry and BELIPO 80/20 between Government and the private owners, among them David Jenkins of Belmopan and senior attorney and former judge in the Eastern Caribbean and Belize, Denys Barrow. No compensation was paid as agreed by the Musa administration in 2005, and a case filed by the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) in 2006 has yet to be heard.
During his time as Solicitor General, he was the subject of a fracas with authorities in the United States while flying to Washington, D.C. for a conference.
But he is also one of the few attorneys to have appeared before the Privy Council and Caribbean Court of Justice, where in the latter he represented former PUP Minister Jose Coye in a misfeasance suit filed by the Government.
Dr. Kaseke is survived by daughter Jane and predeceased by his wife, Tsitsi Kaseke, and son, Solomon Kaseke.
Funeral services are scheduled for Friday, December 9, at 10:00 a.m. in front of his residence and law office address on Pineapple Street, Belmopan.