Keith Clarke family reaches settlement with Government over 2010 killing

The family of slain businessman Keith Clarke says it has reached an agreement with the Government to settle its lawsuit over his killing 16 years ago.

A statement from the family did not disclose the amount of compensation.

The multimillion-dollar settlement was reached last weekend and is expected to be announced in court today, multiple sources have revealed.

The agreement averts a civil trial in the lawsuit, which was scheduled to begin today.

"After sixteen years of pain, suffering and almost unbearable grief, our family has reached a settlement in our claim against the Government of Jamaica arising from the wrongful killing of our beloved husband and father, Keith Oxford Clarke," the family said in a statement obtained by The Gleaner.

"No settlement will ever assuage our loss. Keith Clarke was an innocent man, a proud and honourable son of the soil, a devoted husband and father, and a man of principle who loved and protected his family."

Clarke was shot 21 times inside his Kirkland Heights, St Andrew, home on May 27, 2010, allegedly by Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) soldiers during an operation targeting then fugitive drug lord Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.

Three soldiers were charged with murder in connection with the killing, but the case against them collapsed in late 2024 after senior JDF officials were unable to help identify the soldiers involved in the operation.

Clarke's family has maintained that he did not know Coke and that the now-convicted drug lord was not at their house. The family has asserted that the soldiers went to the wrong house in what it described as a "fatal mistake".

Despite their loss, the family said it extended love and forgiveness to the "decision-makers" and others who unknowingly participated in the incident.

"We also forgive the decision-makers and those who know the truth about this fatal mistake, but have remained silent. We pray that they will find the courage to do what is right," the statement said.

"We pray that peace will come to them."

The family was represented by attorneys Leonard Green and Sylvan Edwards.

- Livern Barrett

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