Ex-PM links market manager's death to shock of sudden job loss

Archbishop Johnny Jones, a 54-year-old Spiritual Baptist leader who managed Kingstown Market for more than two decades, collapsed and died around 10:00 PM following a major stroke. Former Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has connected the death directly to the psychological trauma of Jones's abrupt removal from his public sector role.

In a national radio broadcast made after visiting Jones's family at Chester Cottage, Gonsalves disclosed that the newly elected New Democratic Party administration handed Jones a termination letter citing medical reasons just over a fortnight before his death. The move came with no advance warning, no notice period, and no chance for Jones to respond, Gonsalves said.

Jones had not reached the mandatory retirement threshold and faced no allegations of wrongdoing or poor performance, Gonsalves emphasized. The former PM portrayed Jones as deeply wounded by the termination. "He received the letter of termination, and it affected him," Gonsalves said. "A few days later, he got a stroke, far more serious than before, and a seizure."

Years earlier, Jones had experienced a minor stroke but continued working effectively in both his management role and his religious calling. After the more severe episode, he was admitted to hospital and then moved to home-based care, where he died hours afterwards.

Beyond his market duties, Jones held the rank of Archbishop at the Mount Carmel Spiritual Baptist Church and commanded respect as a religious figure across St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States. The Spiritual Baptist community makes up roughly one in ten residents nationally.

Gonsalves condemned the manner in which the dismissal was handled, calling it callous and devoid of compassion. He underscored Jones's decades of contribution to both government and faith. "I make no statements other than the facts and allow all right-thinking persons to draw the reasonable inferences from the facts that I presented here," Gonsalves said, framing the strain of the sudden termination as the trigger for the fatal medical event.

Details about Archbishop Jones's funeral service are expected to emerge once Gonsalves completes scheduled visits to the United Kingdom and the Bahamas.