The trial of a man accused of stalking a government minister was adjourned yesterday after the complainant was unable to attend court — because he had to attend a Cabinet meeting instead.

Richard Foggo is charged with stalking Wayne Furbert, the Minister of Transport, last year between October 1 and 21.

The trial was originally scheduled to be held on January 17.

Because of a lack of courtrooms on that date, it was agreed by prosecution and defence lawyers to reschedule the trial provisionally for yesterday.

However, prosecutor Adley Duncan asked for another adjournment, saying that Mr Furbert had to attend a regular Tuesday Cabinet meeting.

The request was opposed by Mr Foggo’s attorney, Victoria Greening, of Resolution Chambers.

Ms Greening said: “These courts must not be dictated to by political matters.”

Ms Greening also suggested that Mr Furbert wanted to delay proceedings until after the General Election on February 18 because he did not want the incident to be “aired in court before the press”.

She noted that, at the January 17 hearing, a prosecution witness had recommended that the trial be postponed until after the General Election.

She also said that she received a letter saying that Mr Furbert “wasn’t available because an election was coming up”.

Mr Greening suggested that the trial could show Mr Furbert and the Government in a negative light, saying: “It is clear that he doesn’t want to come before the election.”

She insisted that Mr Foggo’s attempts to talk to Mr Furbert were “nothing more than an attempt to lobby Parliament”, which he was entitled to do.

Magistrate Maria Sofianos agreed to grant the adjournment.

The trial will now go ahead on February 24, a week after the General Election.

Mr Furbert could not be contacted by press time.

Mr Foggo faces a separate charge of threatening to punch another Hamilton Parish MP — Derrick Burgess, the Deputy Speaker of the House, — on October 21 last year.

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