Former Premier of the Virgin Islands Andrew A. Fahie has begun his appeal against his conviction on cocaine smuggling and money laundering charges. Photo: GIS/File

African leaders like Thomas Sankara (right), of Burkina Faso and Patrice Lumumba (left) of Congo were reported eliminated by colonisers because they opposed colonisation and the exploitation of their country's resources. Photo: Internet Sources

It was yesterday, June 23, 2026, in a Federal Court in Florida, via paper committal, that the showdown began with Mr Fahie's appeal attorney Benedict P. Keuhne.

In his powerful written appeal, defence lawyer Mr Keuhne said Mr Fahie is entitled to the dismissal of his charges due to egregious government misconduct and false testimony, including the finding by a foreign tribunal that the confidential informant was unreliable.

Informant is not credible - Appeal

In the filed appeal, the former Premier’s attorney noted that the entire prosecution depended on the informant’s actions and recorded statements, and that this error caused substantial prejudice to the defendant. Additionally, the evidence did not prove that the defendant conspired to import a substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, requiring that the drug conspiracy conviction be vacated for insufficient evidence.

Mr Fahie's defence also argued that the jury’s failure to unanimously agree on its verdict requires the Court to declare a mistrial or remand the case with instructions for the District Court to conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the jury’s verdict was unanimous.

Let it stand- Prosecution

However, Federal Prosecution pushed back yesterday in their written submission, saying they recommend no dismissal of charges and that the sentence given remains. They also fought against a retrial, and want no oral arguments to be allowed in the decision-making.

Mr Fahie's team has until July 7, 2026, to respond, but can request an extension, according to the court records.  

Mr Fahie was found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in 2024 for conspiring with then Managing Director of the BVI Ports Authority (BVIPA), Oleanvine Pickering-Maynard, and her son, Kadeem S. Maynard, for amounts of cocaine to pass through the VI’s ports as part of a multi-million cocaine deal made with an informant of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), who was posing as a drug trafficker.

History repeats itself?

Many historians, social and political commentators have branded the matter of how they went after Mr Fahie as a witch-hunt to eliminate and punish him for his progressive and outspoken stands against racism and colonialism. That is the same way they eliminated other African leaders like Thomas Sankara, of Burkina Faso, Patrice Lumumba of Congo, Sylvanu Epiphanio Olympio of Togo and Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda, to name a few.