Dear Editor: Did Watson Duke not take the THA oath of office by accident or design?


“[…] While reading the oath of office, at the swearing-in ceremony for members of the Tobago House of Assembly on Thursday 9 December, 2021, Watson Duke uttered the words, ‘I will bear true faith and allegiance to Tobago and Trinidad’.

“This is clearly not what the oath says…”

The following Letter to the Editor, which questions the validity of the oath taken by PDP Political Leader Watson Duke at the official swearing-in ceremony for THA officials on Thursday 9 December, was submitted to Wired868 by Roger Mohammed of Oropune Gardens, Arouca:

Photo: THA deputy chief secretary and PSA president Watson Duke.

According to section 13 (1) of the Tobago House of Assembly Act Chapter 25:03, ‘No person elected or appointed to the Assembly shall assume the duties of his office until he is administered the relevant oath of office.’

This oath is clearly spelt out at section 6 of the First Schedule of the said THA Act. It says the following: ‘I will bear true faith and allegiance to Trinidad and Tobago.’

While reading the oath of office, at the swearing-in ceremony for members of the Tobago House of Assembly on Thursday 9 December, 2021, Watson Duke uttered the words, “I will bear true faith and allegiance to Tobago and Trinidad.”

This is clearly not what the oath says.

I recall that on Inauguration Day in January 2009, former United States of America president Barack Obama had to re-take the oath of office because a word was out of sequence on his first attempt.

Photo: Former United States president Barack Obama.
(Courtesy UK Telegraph)

I am surprised that none of the legal luminaries have raised this issue. Whether it was facetiously done or a genuine error, the fact is that the oath of office was incorrectly taken.

This raises the valid question; was Watson Duke properly sworn in as an elected member of the Tobago House of Assembly?

More from Wired868
Dear Editor: Calypso Fiesta should be only road to Big Yard—not Tobago Monarch!

“[…] It is totally unfair to all semi-finalists that a calypsonian who won a competition in Tobago months before, under Read more

Vaneisa: It’s no wonder that citizens feel disrespected and disregarded

Situations can inch up stealthily, creeping up so insidiously that we cannot pinpoint the moment when an aberration became the Read more

Noble: “A political party without morals, is just a conspiracy to seize power…”

“If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and Read more

Noble: Wait Dorothy, wait; meaningless talk blows our future away

This week saw the eruption of meaningless narratives that do not help us to become the best we can be. Read more

Daly Bread: Laventille pan parade cancellation shows gap between nice words and real support

From time to time, politicians say things with which we can agree in principle.  However, we are regularly disappointed when Read more

Noble: I can’t breathe! Crime hogs headlines; but what about inflation?!

On 17 July 2014, Eric Garner was accused of selling loose cigarettes by a New York police officer. Daniel Pantaleo, Read more

About Letters to the Editor

Want to share your thoughts with Wired868? Email us at editor@wired868.com. Please keep your letter between 300 to 600 words and be sure to read it over first for typos and punctuation. We don't publish anonymously unless there is a good reason, such as an obvious threat of harassment or job loss.

Check Also

Dear Editor: Calypso Fiesta should be only road to Big Yard—not Tobago Monarch!

“[…] It is totally unfair to all semi-finalists that a calypsonian who won a competition …

2 comments

  1. It matters not overly how he placed the words; his signature to the written version is what counts

  2. The official name of our country is Trinidad & Tobago.

    I believe that Watson Duke was trying to be a wise guy. In keeping with proper procedure, he should be made to retake the oath.

    Allowing what appear to be little things to slip leads to slippage of bigger things as the precedent has been set.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.