Former PUP Politician and Minister of State Ainslie Leslie died this morning at the KHMH - and COVID 19 could be the cause.
We are told the 73-year-old "Brother Les", as he was known had been ill in Cayo and was brought to Belize City last night in respiratory distress.
He was admitted at the KHMH COVID ward and died hours later.
And while his death - especially under such circumstances is tragic for his family - his loss is felt throughout Cayo where he was a well-known figure and was a successful politician.
Leslie was elected during the Musa Administration of 1998 to 2008 and served two terms as representative for Cayo North - known as a UDP stronghold.
Today, his former Cabinet Colleague Godfrey Smith reminisced about the mild-mannered Brother Les. He spoke to us via zoom teleconference:
Godfrey Smith - Former PUP Minister "I think the quality that resonated most with me then and even now is total selflessness and commitment to the role being an area representative. You know that first thing an area representative wants is to be a minister in cabinet, not so, I think he was intimidated by the prospect of being a cabinet minister. Certainly, he was terrified of having to stand up and speak in the house of representatives but a better more first rate, giving representative of the people, you could not find on any side of the political divide. By personality, he was a nonconfrontational man, brother Les to the best of my recollection avoided any kind of confrontation, any kind of conflict, he wanted to be on friendly terms with everyone. If you spoke too hard to him or he says he was being ignored or rejected in any way, it stung him deeply. Nevertheless, he never held malice, not vindictive, not scheming."
Jules Vasquez "But what he did was quite extraordinary because we know that he won in the Cayo North area which is a UDP stronghold, a native UDP area and he won there twice."
Godfrey Smith "Again, brother Leslie was not a complex man, so I think I would do a disservice if I try to offer some complex sophisticated analysis. You touched on it, the common touch, people can read you, they can see that he was genuine."
Former Prime Minister Said Musa - who was Leslie's party leader - also weighed in with a comment. He said,
"Brother Les was a kind soul. He always reminded me of that image of a teddy bear with the saying: to know me is to love me!"
Musa continues, quote,
"Brother Les was a people's politician. As a campaigner in the Cayo north sitting down in the voters' home there was none better. He would spend hours listening and always coming up with a solution to whatever the problem or the need. He gave generously of his time and limited finance to his poor constituents!...He captured the red hills,the once impregnable bastion of the UDP, not once but twice!" End quote.
His son Mark told us he was making funeral arrangement immediately after his death.
