The fearless and resilient Mayor of Kingston, Desmond McKenzie, has reportedly been receiving death threats due to his drive to eliminate illegal operations as well as extortion in downtown Kingston's Pearnel Charles Arcade.

He said  gunmen from a well known central Kingston community have threatened to kill him.  He revealed this during his address to Jamaica Labour Party supporters at the Area Council One meeting in Port Royal yesterday afternoon. 

"The reports came to me from last night (Saturday night) as well as today that they are saying because of what I've done ... anywhere they see me (they will kill me)," McKenzie told reporters yesterday. The mayor said a police officer also informed him of the threats.

McKenzie said he had informed Derrick Smith, the Minister of National Security, but has not yet made a formal complaint to the police.

According to the mayor, buses plying the Kingston to Morant Bay route have been operating illegally from the arcade. The vendors who do business in the arcade have also been victimized by the criminals who have been extorting money in exchange for safety.

Since March, the KSAC has made efforts to reduce illegal activities. The mayor implied that this is the cause of the recent flare-up of violence in parts of central Kingston that has claimed 13 lives in three weeks.

"One person called me to say that they are willing to talk. The war can stop if I allow the buses to go back to the location. I would never bow to that," he says.

McKenzie says he is in dialogue with a prominent People's National Party activist who has contacted him with a view to initiating discussions with "an individual from the central Kingston community who will be crucial to putting an end to the violence."