The Tribune

YESTERDAY, Tribune readers living in the Cable Beach, Lyford Cay area, complained that on Monday newspaper vendors were handing out a bright coloured flyer that defamed Lyford Cay resident Louis Bacon. From its content, the flyer was obviously a part of the bitter fight between two factions to preserve the beaches of Clifton and its environs for Bahamians.

However, what the callers complained of was that the vendors were distributing the flyers in such a way that the person purchasing The Tribune was given the impression that the flyers were a part of our newspaper. We have since learned that vendors who handled other newspapers – not just The Tribune — were also distributing them with all of the other publications. However, those who called to inform us seemed only concerned with The Tribune’s reputation as they knew that we would not condone such villainy.

On Monday, a lawyer spotted vendors selling the newspapers on the west side of the six-leg roundabout on JF Kennedy Drive. He stopped to ask them who was supplying them with the flyers and why were they passing them out. The lawyer was told that distributing flyers was a part of a vendor’s business. They said they did it for a fee. On further questioning, he was told that a “tall, thin bright-skinned woman” brought them, and paid $100 per batch for them to be handed out. He tried to find out how many they had to pass out for $100 and was told that there was no fixed amount, whenever the young woman took them a batch of flyers she paid them $100, and they handed them out until they were gone.

However, what these poor vendors do not realise is that it is a criminal offence to distribute libellous material. We can assure them that this material is highly defamatory, and that there are ruthless people about who are taking advantage of their ignorance.

Most people think that the only person who can commit a libel is the person who writes that libel down. This is not so, no matter how much defamatory material is written, it does not become actionable in law until it is published to a third party.

There are many ways that material can be published. One of those ways is what the vendors are doing — handing flyers out that contain the libel. Each hand-out is a new publication and cause for a new action in law.

One never hears of a street vendor being prosecuted for handing out a flyer that contains a libel. Because it does not happen, does not mean that it can’t happen.

The the only reason that it does not happen is that persons at that economic level are considered “men of straw”. Therefore, it would be a waste of the court’s time to go after the little man.

However, this is a warning to all street vendors who sell The Tribune: If you include any foreign matter in this newspaper that was not sold to you as a part of our newspaper, we shall take action.

So, vendors — or “street hawkers” as they are better known — don’t be tempted by any young lady who might want to use you, because if The Tribune is used again in this manner, there will be severe consequences. Your $100 per batch will not be worth the trouble it will cause you.

Of course, the public could be of great help if when they see something like this happening again, they would call The Tribune to give us the location of the hawker.

This is the second time that this particular group has used The Tribune — and the street hawkers — in this manner. The last time was on March 17, 2011.

It is a shame that people who know better would encourage these poor, hardworking Bahamians to participate in a campaign to smear another’s reputation for a few dollars.

We hope, for the sake of the street hawkers, that this will not occur again.