Former Hotline radio host Antoinette Haughton-Cardenas has died

WESTERN BUREAU:

ANTOINETTE HAUGHTON-CARDENAS, who at one time was the most popular talk show host in Jamaica and formerly hosted RJR’s Hotline call-in programme for 10 years, has died at the age of 68.

According to reports, Haughton-Cardenas, who was also formerly a renowned attorney-at-law, died on Thursday after a protracted period of illness. She had been living in the United States for the past 15 years.

Haughton-Cardenas also formed the United People’s Party in 2001, though she failed to win a seat in the House of Representatives during the 2002 general election.

Western Jamaica-based attorney-at-law and former Cornwall Bar Association president, Lambert Johnson, described the report of Haughton-Cardenas’ death as surprising.

“I was a little surprised at the news of her passing, and from the reports it seemed to be a sudden passing. I just wish to extend sincerest condolences to her widower and all the other members of her family, and we hope the Lord will strengthen them in this difficult time, and may she find perpetual rest in the arms of the Lord,” said Johnson.

Noted political commentator Lloyd B. Smith remembered Haughton-Cardenas as a people-oriented woman who keenly stood up for the rights of Jamaicans and amassed a popular following during her time.

“She was a very fearless advocate for human rights, and for accountability in the areas of politics and public life in general. She had a sort of unique personality in the way she went about doing her stuff, and she had garnered a great deal of support in terms of how she was perceived by the general public,” Smith said of Haughton-Cardenas.

“Antoinette was a strong Jamaican woman, rootsy, dedicated to the masses of the country, and she had her own vision of what she would have liked to see Jamaica become. Unfortunately, her dream was deferred because of other unfortunate events that overtook her life, which led to her gradual disappearance from the public view,” Smith added.

He was referring to Haughton-Cardenas’ fall from grace in the early 2000s, when she was accused of embezzling millions of dollars from a client for whom she had done a transaction.

In 2009, the General Legal Council barred her from the roll of practising attorneys after the London-based Privy Council ruled against her in her fight with the Council’s Disciplinary Committee. The Council had taken action against her for failing to submit accounting reports for 1999 and 2000.

Haughton-Cardenas, who was arrested and charged with two counts of fraudulent conversion, left the island without paying back the money, and had been residing overseas since then.