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VOLUME:116 No.24, JANUARY 29TH, 2019
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WOMAN: REBUILDING MY LIFE AFTER HUSBAND’S MURDER
No-show Nygard runs out of lives
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
IMMIGRATION officials arrested 12 foreign women early yesterday morning during a joint operation targeting the “illicit nightlife circuit” throughout New Providence. Five Jamaicans, five Colombians, one Venezuelan and one Trinidadian were taken into custody in the joint operation called “Operation Honey Hive”, which also included Royal Bahamas Police Force officers from the Southwest Division. The immigration enforcement team raided three strip clubs between midnight and 3am.
Judge issues arrest warrant as tycoon misses court - AGAIN By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A SUPREME Court judge yesterday ordered the “immediate arrest” of Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard for failing to appear on three occasions to be sentenced for breaching a court order prohibiting him from engaging in any illegal dredging near his Lyford Cay home. Justice Cheryl GrantThompson issued the bench warrant after saying she has “zero tolerance” for the Lyford Cay resident failing to honour her orders for him to appear in court for his own sentencing hearings two weeks ago, last
week, and again yesterday. She also ordered Nygard will have to show cause for why he should not be committed to prison for failing to show in court on those occasions, as she said the fashion designer was “duly informed” of the orders she made last week. She requested Nygard’s attorney Keod Smith appear in court on February 7 to explain why he did not appear for yesterday’s proceedings, despite placing himself on the record as Nygard’s attorney during a hearing a week ago and not formally withdrawing since. Justice Grant-Thompson’s ruling came a week
SEE PAGE 13
‘I’VE GOT NOTHING TO HIDE’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A BAHAMIAN attorney yesterday said his firm has “nothing to hide” and “will do everything to clear our name” in relation to its involvement with the Fyre Festival debacle. Craig Butler, principal of CF Butler & Associates, said he and the company were anxious to disassociate themselves from the $26m fraud perpetrated by organiser, William McFarland, and would co-operate with investigators probing where the money went once they went through established legal channels. He added that his law firm had “acted professionally at all times” and its fees were consistent with the services it provided to McFarland and his company.
SEE PAGE FIVE
RETIRED PRIEST DIED IN CRASH
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
DR ANTHONY DAHL, a 71-year-old retired priest, was yesterday named as the man who died in a scooter accident on Cat Island. The ordained priest and “nomad”, as his sister Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis remembered him, was looking forward to enjoying his retirement on the island
but was killed when he crashed into a utility pole on Queen’s Highway only days after his arrival. Dahl had travelled the world, was highly educated and a well-known professor of languages at Spelman College in Atlanta where he spent more than 20 years. Perhaps this is why initial reports coming from police and from those on SEE PAGE SEVEN
DEPENDABILITY FOR THE WIN. AGAIN. AND AGAIN.
CANADIAN fashion mogul Peter Nygard pictured arriving at court at an earlier hearing. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
PM’S PROMISE - I’LL DELIVER ON JOBS By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis promised an aggressive job growth agenda last night during his first national address of the year. He discussed tourism projects he hopes will arrest the high unemployment rate the country has experienced since the Great Recession. However, he detailed little in terms
EQUINOX
12 WOMEN SEIZED IN CLUB RAIDS
PRIME Minister Hubert Minnis speaking last night. of new policies and his address was largely a summary of projects
previously revealed to the public along with data about the economy. Dr Minnis said he will give two additional reports in the coming weeks that will focus on combatting crime, education, health care, housing and homeownership, the environment and climate change, energy reform and land reform. Although the recent labour force survey
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PAGE 2, Tuesday, January 29, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
THE PRIME MINISTER ADDRESSES THE NATION
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said he has directed tourism officials to craft a shortterm plan to clean up downtown Nassau as he discussed long-term plans to revitalise Bay Street during his national address last night, saying many Bahamians have complained to him about the appalling state of the area. Upgrading the Port of Nassau will be central to the government’s efforts. Dr Minnis said: “A significant development that will help to expand, to grow the economy in New Providence is the proposed public-private partnership for the management, upgrade and expansion of the Port of Nassau, which has gone to tender. The ambitious project aims to provide for the development of expanded berthing capacity, a new arrivals terminal and associated labour front facilities improvements. The major undertaking will tie-in to the long-awaited and
ongoing redevelopment of downtown Nassau. In the redevelopment of Prince George Wharf, the government will continue to own the wharf, but the taxpayer dollars will not be used in its transformation.” The anticipated destruction of the General Post Office building to make way for a new Supreme Court complex will help revitalise downtown, Dr Minnis said. He noted the Central Bank will be constructed on the old Victoria property. Restaurants, shops, convenience stores and other commercial enterprises will be required to facilitate the rejuvenation of the area, the prime minister said. “In the short and medium-term,” he said, “I have directed the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation and minister of works and other agencies to present a plan as soon as possible to begin to immediately beautify and clean up Bay Street. In addition to my personal observances, many Bahamians have reported to me how appalled they are by the state of downtown. I will have more to say on this on another occasion.” The city of Nassau was
Tourism officials told to clean up downtown Nassau
once the centre of commerce in the country but has been on the decline since the 1980s. Revitalising downtown has been a longstanding goal of administrations but significant improvement has been slow to arrive. Among other issues, dilapidated buildings drag down Bay Street. Larry Smith, a Tribune columnist who died in 2017, wrote in 2016 that a US-based community developer, the Rouse Company, was hired to draw up suggestions for revitalising Nassau in the 1980s but the key players, notably Normon Solomon, did not have enough political capital to kick start the project. This effort was followed by the creation of the Nassau Tourism Development Board in the late 1990s, Mr Smith said, a body again focused on redeveloping ‘historic Nassau.’ According to the Downtown Nassau Partnership, a Nassau Economic Development Commission was formed in 2003 to yet again lay a foundation for the long-term redevelopment of the city. That commission morphed into the Downtown Revitalisation Committee in 2007. That committee became the DNP in 2009. Last year, DNP Managing Director Ed Fields told The Tribune the organisation’s goals include creating a public transportation shuttle system for downtown, constructing a
DR Minnis is calling for officials to improve the capital. 12ft wide boardwalk that will run from East Street to Potter’s Cay Dock and transforming Fort Charlotte’s surrounding area and
the Fish Fry using a “Central Park-like” concept. He estimated the infrastructure could cost from a quarter to half-a-billion dollars.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, January 29, 2019, PAGE 3
THE PRIME MINISTER ADDRESSES THE NATION
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis discussed numerous Family Island tourism projects during his national address last night, hoping the developments will further dent the unemployment rate on those islands. The recent labour force survey showed the unemployment rate declined in Grand Bahama and Abaco. Dr Minnis revealed a proposed “Tyrsoz family” project that will see $580 million invested in South Abaco for the “development of a five-star residential resort and marina which will involve the upgrade and expansion of the Sandy Point airstrip, the development of Sandy Point ferry dock as a cargo transshipment port and construction area, and the extension of Queen’s Highway in South Abaco.” He said the government has approved a “joint venture partnership arrangement for the development of the Blue Hole Marina and Lodge in Fresh Creek which will consist of a 12-room lodge and an 80-slip marina including a bulk fuel facility.” In Long Island, there will be a Pinder’s Bay $5 million 28-bungalow community development project at Lower Harbour, he said, adding the project will hire about 30 Bahamians during construction and nine Bahamians to operate and maintain the residential community. In the works on the island is a five-star ecoresort by Start Resort that will have 515 luxury residences, he also said. Dr Minnis highlighted investments for Eleuthera, including: “The Philautia boutique resort hotel project in Governor’s Harbour; Disney Cruise Lines’ low-density cruise port destination at the Lighthouse Beach in Bannerman Town; Windermere Island North Community Resort; Jack’s Bay Community Resort and Davis Harbour Marine south of Rock Sound and the $4 million Harbour Island Marina and Community Resort.” He said: “The latter two projects were recently approved for expansion developments that were approved previously and are currently underway.”
PM putting Family Islands at centre of govt strategy The prime minister said his administration is exploring establishing a transshipment port in Mayaguana in southern Bahamas. He said: “The owners of the highly successful Bahamas Stripping Group of Companies, which got its start through incentives by a previous FNM administration, will develop poultry farms and processing plants on North Andros and Eleuthera and through a distribution centre on New Providence. We will promote Family Island and rural development with the same intensity and focus that have been historically applied to New Providence and Grand Bahama. “This year we will roll out several key agriculture investment projects in this sector on several islands especially Andros, Eleuthera and Grand Bahama. We will invest in strengthening agricultural infrastructure inclusive of farm feed roads, and facilitating access to power and water in farming areas. We are equally committed to developing an integrated agriculture eco-system where farmers will have access to insurance, and access to cost-effective interisland transportation inclusive of refrigeration. “As a matter of urgency, we will increase access to credit and additional funding to Bahamians in this sector while increasing the access of producers to local and international markets.” Jamaal’s View - Page 4
DR Minnis highlighted investments for Eleuthera.
MINNIS PROMISES AN AGGRESSIVE JOB GROWTH AGENDA from page one
showed unemployment increased from 10 percent to 10.7 percent from May to November 2018, Dr Minnis said the 6.7 percent decrease in discouraged workers is proof of the economy’s increasing strength. “This indicates that more Bahamians have confidence in the country’s economic recovery...more people are actively looking for work,” he said. In New Providence, unemployment increased from 10 percent to 11 percent, according to the latest survey. To fight this, Dr Minnis highlighted several projects. These included the condominium hotel and marina at the Pointe which is expected to be completed next year, the $120 million Wynn Group condo-hotel project on West Bay Street, construction of which began last July, and the Sterling Hurricane Hole Community Resort and Marina, a $250 million development that promises to provide 3,000 construction jobs over the next five years and 500 full and part time jobs upon completion; a ground breaking ceremony was held for the project last week. Dr Minnis also mentioned a Rose Island Community Resort and Marina but he did not
provide details about the previously undisclosed project. The prime minister said: “There are also a number of large-scale New Providence based Bahamian-owned tourism projects which include Paradise Island Lighthouse and Beach Club, Athol Island Entertainment Facility and the Heritage Tourism Project. The owners of the Heritage Tourism Project are a group of Bahamian businessmen. Their objective is upgrading and operating several historical sites, transforming them into major attractions for Bahamians and the international tourism market.” Dr Minnis highlighted the increasing strength of the tourism sector. According to the Ministry of Tourism, he said, air arrivals increased 16.5 percent through September 2018. Preliminary stopover numbers for the year through October 2018 was 1.33 million, he said, a 10.4 percent increase over the same period the year before. He said Expedia reported a 32 percent increase in room night sales for this country and a 22 percent increase in gross hotel bookings year-on-year for the period January through November. “The outlook remains favourable for continued growth in air arrivals,” he said, “with bookings for the first quarter of 2019 forecast
to be ahead by 10.3 percent for international arrivals. International airlift capacity increased by almost 9.8 percent in December, with air seat capacity from the USA and Canada scheduled to increase by 21 percent and 19.9 percent respectively in the first quarter of this year.” Dr Minnis cited the International Monetary Fund’s
projections that the Bahamas economy would grow by 2.3 percent in 2018 and 2.1 percent in 2019. “This is the first time in 12 years, and the first time since the Great Recession of 2008, that the Bahamas has enjoyed projected growth of more than two percent for two consecutive years,” he said. “This is a milestone. But we need
even more robust growth to bring down unemployment across the board.” Dr Minnis also said he has asked ministers to “address the unacceptable amount of time it takes for Bahamians and foreigners alike to open a bank account.” He said: “Yes, the know-your-customer rules are important. But just as important is that
Bahamians should be able to go to a bank and open a bank account with little hassle once they have proper identification to prove who they are. Instead of finding excuses as to why it cannot happen, I want the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance, the commercial banks and the private sector to tell me how it will happen.”
PAGE 4, Tuesday, January 29, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
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Jockeying for position as Trump stumbles on NEXT year America prepares for several landmark events. There is the centennial celebration of women’s voting rights. There is a general election including for the office of president. And there is the once-a-decade process called the census, a process by which individual state populations are counted and surveyed to ensure there is proportionate representation in the American Congress. It appears now all three of these events will be directly related. Assuming he survives numerous inquiries into his past and present corruptions and a possible primary election challenge, Donald Trump will face a Democratic opponent – and possibly a third-party candidate to be determined – in the November 2020 general election. Before that happens, the Republicans will attempt to influence the census by introducing questions about citizenship that are designed to confuse, intimidate and invalidate minority voters. The GOP apparently hopes to persuade the newly conservative-majority US Supreme Court to accept a test case and then rule that such activity is legal. Meantime, octogenarian former leveraged buyout expert, Trump casino saviour and current US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, who oversees the census process, will continue his attempts to subvert the process. Four major candidates have already announced their intention to compete for the Democratic party nomination. All are women, and all are elected officials presently serving in Washington. Leading off was Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a populist whose primary policies are almost indistinguishable from those of her colleague and ally, independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Warren, wittily nicknamed ‘Pocahontus’ by Trump because she claims distant Native American heritage, will run against Wall Street and might not garner much support among African Americans who comprise nearly a quarter of the Democratic base and will be critically influential in early primaries in southern American states. Sanders may yet decide to run again. But on Martin Luther King Day a week ago, Kamala Harris threw her hat in the ring. Harris, of Indian and Jamaican descent, was just elected to the Senate from California, where she previously
served as state attorney general. Very photogenic and highly articulate, she is reminiscent of a young senator from Illinois who surprised many in 2007 by declaring his presidential candidacy. Harris may be this year’s Barack Obama and while she will appeal to large sections of the Democratic base, she is probably more representative of the party’s centre, as Obama turned out to be. Another Democratic woman who announced she is running is New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who succeeded Hillary Clinton in the Senate and has proven to be a formidable political force in fundraising and with broad appeal across party lines. Gillibrand is certainly the most avowed feminist in the race so far and also an accomplished, experienced politician. With speculation increasing that the Supreme Court may take an abortion case next year, women and their rights are likely to have increased prominence. The final announced candidate is Rep. Tulsi Gabbart, a plain-spoken congresswoman from Hawaii who may be in the race to increase name recognition in advance of a possible Senate race next year. Youthful and energetic, Gabbart is probably also more representative of the Democrats’ central wing. Several men (former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke, a Latino despite his Irish surname) are expected to join the race soon. Another female senator, popular Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, should declare in the near future. All these worthy contenders could be joined by up to a dozen others in a primary field likely to be even more crowded than the 17 GOP hopefuls just three years ago. They will all be vying to oppose an incumbent president who is believed by most or has already revealed himself to be a liar, cheat, philanderer, draft dodger, racist, misogynist, narcissist - a fundamentally unworthy president. The current president casually ignores the import and seriousness of the duties he so regularly defiles by his lazy unwillingness to follow the national interest. His determined corruption has perhaps fatally stained the Republican party whose elected representatives must toe his line or face loss of office. No wonder so many vie to succeed him.
Cameras which can’t catch the criminals EDITOR, The Tribune HOW good is your memory? When did the first CCTV camera go up in downtown? Did crime decrease from the petty pick-pocketing and selling of drugs? It still goes on today with cameras. Certain areas south of the arch CCTV - has that stopped a single criminal act? How many prosecutions and importantly guilty verdicts were assisted by
using photographic CCTV evidence? Generally crime continues in the now traditional areas - the Police acknowledge that and confirm…. We know where they are but what happens? What are they doing about it? So we are going to purchase 55 - yes FIFTY-FIVE drones - we have signed a ShooterSpotter system. My question is polling being driven by the Talk Shows and not scientifically? Is
all this purchasing just to satisfy the Talk Show listeners? Question - Can a drone fly over my private property? Can I shoot it down? Will these drones have the capability, to listen to electronic communication and take photographs? Is my privacy dead? Public wake up! 1984 cometh! K HALL Nassau January 27, 2019
I see three ships ... PRINCE George Wharf Cruise Port Management. It seems there are some very high stakes in the current RFP from the Ministry… those seemingly bidding are certainly trying their hardest to influence those who have zero influence…Joe public! What a laugh. Positioning - lobbying what a waste of everyone’s time as there is singularly one and solely one issue. Whoever can guarantee we receive more boats very
early on their itinerary rather than being the usual except for the three-day econ-cruises, if possible and might a condition of winning this RFP - guarantee at least three-mega ships in Nassau port on the first or least second port of call of the cruise out of the US. Anything less a total waste of time…we are going to get a two-three percent natural increase as the boats are getting larger
and larger but that means nothing if the Nassau port of call is the last but one or worse the last port of call - take it from research the cruise takers are by then broke - credit cards exhausted as also the debit cards. The bidders who cannot guarantee this, need not bid. H GIBSON Nassau January 16, 2019
Sending chilling negative messages EDITOR, The Tribune AS A trained and highly experienced former member of The Bahamas Bar, I do believe that I am qualified to opine on judicial matters locally and around the world. In countries where the government and its allies are in actual ‘control’ of the legal profession and the judiciary, you will find that the administration of justice is badly crippled or entirely non existent, to the profound detriment of the stability and viability of a nation. With your leave, my fellow Bahamians, et al, may I refer to the recent presidential elections in the so-called Democratic Republic of Congo. Congo, as it is universally known, has been ruled by the Kabila family, through father and son, for decades after the father seized political and military power in a brutal coup. The then president was butchered and killed. Since then the judiciary in the Congo has been
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net subject to manipulations of the highest order. In recent years the so-called Constitutional court’ ruled that Kabilia was entitled, under the constitution, to offer for re-election, despite a then current constitutional ban on such a move. This same ‘Constitutional Court’ has now ruled that the candidate whom every observer said got the least votes in the just concluded presidential elections, is the duly elected president. That individual seems to be in ‘an understanding’ with outgoing Kabila. This is what happens when the local judiciary is actually controlled or seemed to be controlled by any government of the day, in any nation. Right here at home, we have a judiciary, established as one of the three pillars of governance and a bulwark
in our Constitution...The Bahamas Independence Order, 1973. This administration, through the Prime Minister, has seemed to be reluctant to fulfil its constitutional mandate...that of the substantive appointment of a Chief Justice. while there may be nothing sinister about this, the perception and actual hobbling of the judiciary are spin offs. This is wrong and the PM must act post haste in the simple but vital recommendation for such an appointment. The Congo may go in turmoil real soon based on antecedents, God forbid. Here at home the uncertainties created, unnecessarily, in my view, is bad optics and sends volumes of chilling messages of the negative. To God then, in all things, be the glory. ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr Nassau January 20, 2019
Talk show trivia EDITOR, The Tribune UNFORTUNATELY for my experience, every time I do listen to a talk show misinformation is spoken, not only by the host, but reinforced by the callers. The rise of Hubert Ingraham to leader of the FNM - Algernon Allen had little to do with this. Mr Ingraham as an independent MP, saw that Sir Cecil Wallace was unwell, actually terminally sick, and Mr Ingraham saw his opportunity.
Cleverly he lobbied the key money supporters, of the FNM and literally sold himself on the platform. “I will remove Lynden Pindling for ever”. At a critical stage he went to Freeport - he did not meet Sir Cecil but did have meetings with CA Smith and Maurice Moore, who, seeing on Ingraham’s yellow scratch pad a list of the money donors of the FNM, were shocked and rushed to call Sir Orville Turnquest and report.
Soon after a meeting was held, and remember at Nassau Beach against the then Articles of the FNM, Sir Orville nominated Ingraham from the floor as leader and immediately after Sir Orville as deputy the plot was launched. It was obvious that Ingraham was Prime MInister material and it was his skill that got him there. W THOMPSON Nassau January 25, 2019
Madness incorporated EDITOR, The Tribune WHY at this time of our economic development, except to assist and do what the clearing banks are supposed to do, do we want to implement a Credit Bureau? Note it was the political guro of the DNA, Johnny Rodgers who proposed this. So the hundreds who have debts at the Government Education Scholarship Fund will start out big in the negative
- how many actually have accounts to start with, might be 20-25,000 … do the Utility Cos report, now that’s a laugh as I suspected 85-90% of all account holders have balances due. Will this not kill any type of entrepreneurship? This yet again a cough up to the clearing banks on the substantial bad loans their management has given over the years and now they want the Central Bank at the cost of the consumer to clean their mess up…no
more no less. It is very well known that a high percentage of the civil service with salary deductions go home with low three-figure salary cheques. Will this kill the credit economy totally? Your guess, but I suggest this is madness incorporated, Bahamians are not known for paying their bills! ABRAHAM MOSS Nassau January 23 2019
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, January 29, 2019, PAGE 5
from page one
No-show Nygard runs out of lives
after she ordered Nygard to appear in court and explain why he failed to appear on two previous occasions at the time to be sentenced for dredging the sea bed near Nygard Cay between March and April 2015, and again in October of 2016, despite a June 2013 injunction prohibiting him from doing so. Last year, retired Justice Rhonda Bain convicted and fined Nygard $50,000 for breaching her July 13, 2013 injunction prohibiting him from engaging in dredging activities at his Simms Point/Nygard Cay property. It was alleged that Nygard violated the injunction in December 2014. If the fine was not paid by March 21, 2017, Nygard faced 14 days in prison. He was further ordered to remove the excavated sand and return it to Jaws Beach by April 7, 2017 or face an additional $50,000 fine and a $1,000 fine for each day that order is not adhered to. Nygard paid the fine before the specified deadline, but has since appealed that ruling. In July of last year, former Justice Bain found the 78-year-old to be in contempt of court breaching her July 2013 injunction - once between March and April 2015 and again in October of 2016. Then, in an order that was made on June 29, 2018 and filed on July 23 of that year, retired Justice Bain ordered Nygard to be present before Justice Indra Charles in September 2018 for the purposes of concluding his mitigation and sentencing hearing. Nygard appeared on September 28 for the mitigation and sentencing hearing, but for various reasons, including a recusal application against Justice Charles, those proceedings were again adjourned. Via an order filed on October 9, 2018, Justice Charles ordered Nygard to appear in court on January 17 to hear the recusal application, as well as to conclude the mitigation and sentencing proceedings. Nygard did not appear on January 17, however. Justice Charles subsequently adjourned those proceedings and directed that the mitigation and sentencing proceedings be heard before Justice Grant-Thompson on January 21. Justice Charles also recused herself; not as a result of any successful recusal application by Nygard, but of her own volition. When the matter commenced last Monday, however, Nygard was not in nor around the court precincts – only his attorneys Keod Smith and Melissa Hall. The matter was adjourned to yesterday’s date, with Justice Grant-Thompson giving specific orders for Nygard to be present and explain himself in court over his failure to appear. Yesterday however, neither Nygard nor Keod Smith were present in court when the bailiff called their names. Nygard’s absence, however, came notwithstanding a letter dated January 24 from Carlton Martin, Nygard’s other attorney, that indicated that the designer would be in court in a “timely manner” on yesterday’s date. Thus, Mr Martin indicated in court yesterday that it was always
PETER Nygard and, above, his Lyford Cay home. his expectation that Nygard would be in court. However, Mr Martin indicated that late on Sunday, he was informed that Nygard would not be appearing in court for medical/health reasons, and that a letter would be forthcoming from his doctors. An affidavit from Dr Lynwood Brown was subsequently brought to the court’s attention, which according to Mr Martin was comprehensive in addressing Nygard’s reasons for not appearing.
According to the affidavit, when Nygard arrived in Winnipeg, Canada in the “wee hours of the morning” on Friday after traveling every day for the entire week for health reasons, he started to feel dizzy and faint, similar to a past occasion when his heart rate was over 130 and his blood pressure at 160/110. Dr Brown thus asserted that Nygard should not travel given his “serious condition”, and further asserted that the air pressure of flying at 30,000 feet to get to the Bahamas could be “fatal” to the 77-year-old. However, Justice Grant-Thompson noted that had yesterday’s proceedings been that of a criminal nature, Dr Brown’s affidavit - which Mr Martin himself said he saw for the first time yesterday morning – would be regarded as “triple hearsay” given that Dr Brown did not examine Nygard himself, but rather spoke with other doctors who dealt with Nygard. Nonetheless, Mr Martin asserted that Nygard was not playing games with the court, and that
conclusions should not be made “lightly” concerning his client’s health. He thus asked the court to give Dr Brown, and Nygard by extension, the benefit of the doubt concerning their claims. In response, however, Fred Smith, QC, asserted that Dr Brown’s affidavit doesn’t refer to Nygard as being in a medical state of crisis, but merely suggest that he is undergoing pain treatment. Mr Smith further noted that Dr Brown’s affidavit shows that Nygard was traveling via airplane everyday last week, and thus asserted that Nygard ought to have been able to travel to Nassau to be present for his sentencing. Mr Smith further noted that since Justice Bain ordered the mitigation and sentencing, which he said is a “simple, one-step process”, there have been a “multitude” of new applications from Nygard’s camp, which only serve as a “repeat performance” of years of “expense, obfuscation, obstruction and delays” by that side.
Mr Smith also noted that since the hearings began before Justice Charles, there have been a number of changes in Nygard’s attorneys that have caused “untold inconvenience” to the court and his legal team, and further accused Mr Martin and Keod Smith of playing “musical chairs” in their representation of the Lyford Cay mogul. “…At some stage the authority of this court has to be respected,” Mr Smith asserted, adding that Nygard should be made to see that he is “not privileged” and thus above the law. Justice Grant-Thompson’s ruling stems from Nygard’s ongoing battle with Save The Bays over allegations the construction/development activities at his Lyford Cay home have led to a substantial growth of the property. The group claims Nygard has almost doubled the size of his property, from 3.25 acres to 6.1 acres since he acquired it in 1984, by allegedly reclaiming Crown land from the sea.
PAGE 6, Tuesday, January 29, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
JURY HEARS OPENING STATEMENTS IN RAPE TRIAL By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
THE rape trial of Fred Williams, who is accused of having unlawful sex with a minor, opened in the Supreme Court in Grand Bahama yesterday. A nine-member jury was selected yesterday morning and the proceedings began at 2.30pm before Justice Estelle Gray Evans. Williams, who is represented by Carlson Shurland, is charged with three counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 14-yearold boy. It is alleged the incidents occurred in December 2017 in Grand Bahama. Erica Kemp, of the Attorney
General’s Office, is representing the Crown assisted by John Kemp. Two police officers were called to give evidence. First taking the stand was Detective Constable 3708 Stanley Williams of the Criminal Records Office (CRO), Freeport. According to Williams, on Sunday, December 3, 2017, after receiving certain information around 2.45pm, he went to Queen’s Highway, West End, to the bay area and took photographs of the scene. He then left and went to a bus stop on Queens Highway, West End, which he also photographed. At 3.20pm, the police officer went to Bahama Bay where he
also took photographs of a twostorey white and green house. From there, he went to Bayside in Pinder’s Point and also took photographs of the area. After taking photographs of the various locations, Det Constable Williams went to the Criminal Records Office and downloaded the images he had taken on a digital camera to a computer and burned the images on to a CD, on which he put his initials. The images were printed and compiled into several photo albums, which were entered as exhibits in court. Officer Williams also collected two tubes of blood from Williams on December 4, 2017. He packaged the tubes which he later
accompanied to the CRO in New Providence where he handed them over to Detective 3174 Francis at the Police Forensics Lab. Mr Shurland objected to the albums being entered as evidence, arguing that he did not have a chance to see them before the trial. Justice Evans took note of his objection but allowed the albums to be exhibited. While cross-examining Det Williams, Mr Shurland asked where Bahama Bay is located. Mr Williams said it was located in West End. Mr Shurland asked the witness his position at CRO. The officer said he is a crime scene investigator and a police photographer.
Also giving testimony was Det Inspector Roberts who told the court that on December 7, 2017 he compiled a 12-man photograph line-up, which consisted of men, inclusive of Williams, with similar physical characteristics and features. The line-up was also exhibited as evidence. When asked by Mr Shurland whether he had any physical involvement with the suspect Fred Williams, the officer said, “No”. When asked by Mr Shurland if he knew when the photo of Williams was taken, Det Inspector Roberts said it was a recent photo of the suspect. The trial resumes today.
FREEPORT MAN IS CHARGED WITH MURDER By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A 25-YEAR-OLD Freeport man was charged with attempted murder in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Brandon Grant, of Frobisher Court, was arraigned in Court Two before Magistrate Charlton Smith. He was not required to enter a plea to the murder charge and was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in New Providence until April 1. In other crime news, Grand Bahama police want to speak with 43-year-old Tavares Demonte Beckford who they believe can help with an ongoing murder and attempted murder investigation. Mr Beckford, also known as “Foe,” is known to reside at Zimbabwe Avenue in Nassau and Frobisher Circle in Freeport. He is about 5’ 7”, weighing 134lbs with a slim build and medium brown complexion.
25-YEAR-OLD Brandon Grant outside court in Freeport yesterday.
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THE Nassau War Cemetery on Farrington Road. By RIEL MAJOR THE Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) yesterday toured and commended the state of the Nassau War Cemetery on Farrington Road. The CWGC’s aim is to maintain the cemeteries of men and women from the Commonwealth who served their countries in the First and Second World Wars. Victoria Wallace, CWGC director general, said it is wonderful to be in the Bahamas to meet the team who look after the beautiful cemetery. She said: “We try to make sure that all around the world we keep to similar standards and all of the cemeteries look cared for. It is fantastic to see the care. “There is some really important heritage here that we need to maintain and to me that is the important thing is that we try to be everywhere.
“I’m delighted the guys here do a terrific job and if you arrive at any one of these cemeteries and your relative is buried here you would stop and say that looks cared for.” Ms Wallace said she was looking forward to meeting government representatives to discuss the sacrifice Bahamian men and women made fighting in the wars. She said: “There are war cemeteries in 153 countries and territories around the world. “The men who served for example in the First World War we have just had the centenary. (They were) buried in Belgium and they fought in the Battle of Passchendaele so there are guys who are commemorated in our cemeteries and I wanted the government to be confident that those men are honoured just in the same way as every other man and women who fought in those two conflicts.”
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, January 29, 2019, PAGE 7
Priest who retired to Cat Island dies in crash days after his arrival from page one the island insisted that Dahl was an American man who was the victim of Saturday’s traffic fatality. He was also ordained as a priest in Santiago, Chile, but made up his mind he’d spend the rest of his days living the island life either in Cat Island or Andros, since he spent many days there as a child, his sister said. So it was no surprise to relatives when the former chairman of Spelman College’s Department of World Languages & Literature announced he would go to the island to see how he would adjust to life there. While relatives urged that he purchase a car to get around, he insisted a vehicle would be far too much maintenance and instead bought a scooter or motorcycle and headed to Cat Island last Tuesday. “It is all so sudden you know,” Dr Dahl-Regis told The Tribune just two days after his death. “As I understand it when he retired from Spelman he went intoa seminary in Boston and he was ordained in Santiago, Chile of all places. Then he came home six weeks ago and he said he wasn’t minded to go back to Chile, but he wanted to retire in the Family Islands and his choices were either Andros or Cat Island because that’s where we spent time as children. “So in Cat Island the accommodations he found were in Orange Creek where he could stay for two months and he said he would see how that goes before he looked for something more permanent and so he left on Tuesday and we
DR Anthony Dahl was killed when a scooter he was driving crashed into a utility pole on Queen’s Highway.
said to him ‘you are going to need transport on the Family Islands, get a car’ so he says no he doesn’t want the maintenance of a car so he went and bought either a scooter or a motorbike and put it on the boat. “And on Saturday morning he sent a text to his people in Atlanta that he was going to go for a long ride and that was round about 9.30.” This was the last time he spoke with anyone, Dr Dahl-Regis said. She and other relatives believe he was attempting to avoid crashing into an oncoming vehicle on Queen’s Highway when he ran into a utility pole. Despite the nature of his death, she told The Tribune this was probably the way he would have wanted it. Relatives are also grateful the incident happened here in the country and not somewhere else around the world where Dr Dahl spent much of his life. Over the weekend police reported an American man had died in the accident. They did not release an identity but said shortly before noon a man was driving a motorcycle north along Queen’s Highway in the Smith’s Bay settlement when he lost control and crashed into the pole. He received serious injuries, police said, and was taken to the community clinic in Smith’s Bay where he later died. Officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s Traffic Division are expected to travel to the island to continue investigations into this incident. This is believed to be the first traffic fatality on Cat Island for the year.
PAGE 8, Tuesday, January 29, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
T
HE month of January is a powerful one when it comes to remembering what unifying as a people and working towards a common cause can bring. Majority Rule Day and the Martin Luther King holiday were commemorated this month. Abroad, the Civil Rights Movement is well-known and its message is clear. Dr King got some of his inspiration right here in The Bahamas. He spent time living in Bain Town with likeminded colleagues when he visited here. He is said to have written his I Have a Dream speech here. But when it comes to Majority Rule Day, do we have a true understanding of what it means and have all Bahamians accepted it as belonging to them? The Bain Grants Town Advancement Association (BGTA) celebrated the 52nd anniversary of Majority Rule this month under the topic: “Majority Rule Day was to represent a “revolution” in the political, economic and social orders of The Bahamas. The question today is what has happened to the revolution? Is it on course, been retarded or aborted?” In a lecture at Mt Olive Baptist Church moderated by Rev Dr CB Moss, the topic was addressed by former Senator Philip Galanis, Professor Christopher Curry of the University of The Bahamas and Grand Bahama human rights activist Joseph Darville. The BGTA kept the tradition of honouring the day alive long before it became a national holiday three years ago. The annual event, held in the community for many years whether well funded or not, was important to the residents, according to Rev Moss. “We take great interest in participating because this (Bain Grants Town) was the epicentre of activities, where most of the rallies, demonstrations and church services took place at either Windsor Park or Southern Recreation Grounds,” he pointed out. “So Majority Rule Day is a legacy for us. Most of the major personalities were either born here or were deeply involved here (in religious, business, political, cultural and sporting enterprises) for many years. The leaders of the Women’s Suffrage Movement for the most part were from here. So over the years we have taken a delight in leading events. Like the Rt Hon Marcus Garvey said, ‘A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots’. Linking the past to the present is important for us. We as Bahamians do not have a strong sense of our history.” The Bahamas was known as a British Crown Colony since 1718. Shortly after the American War of Independence, British loyalists moved to The Bahamas, thus strengthening the British tie to the islands. By the 1950s political parties were forming, giving hope to a more local autonomy that would then come into effect in 1964. On January 10, 1967, the Progressive Liberal Party led by Lynden Pindling and the ruling United Bahamian Party led by Sir Roland Symonette both won 18 seats. Later, Randol Fawkes would decide to side with the PLP, thus enabling majority rule for the first time in our history. A part of understanding that history is recognising and accepting this is an historic event all Bahamians should be proud of and celebrate, Rev Moss believes. He wants to see the day move away from being perceived as a Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) victory, when really and truly it was one the PLP and the Free National Movement (FNM) should celebrate. “Over the years, Majority Rule Day has been viewed as a divisive event, one that divided the people politically, racially and otherwise,” he said. “In truth, majority rule should have been a day that brought the people together. It was achieved under the PLP, for which we are grateful and we congratulate them. But members of the party, following its attainment, embraced it as if it belonged to them. To exacerbate
ABOVE, from the left, human rights activist Joseph Darville, University of The Bahamas Professor Christopher Curry, former Senator Philip Galanis, Rev. Dr CB Moss, and former Member of Parliament Frederick Mitchell. Left, Sir Randol Fawkes.
Majority rule - did we deliver then betray the dream? the problem, the founding members of the FNM, major players in majority rule, ceded it to the PLP. People like Sir Cecil WallaceWhitfield, Elwood Donaldson, Warren Levarity and Maurice Moore. When they were PLPs, they fought shoulder to shoulder to bring about change. A couple of years later, they split off and did not retain their claim to that significant event. So for years, members of the FNM didn’t want to hear the name ‘Majority Rule’, and the whites looked at it as a day that belongs to the blacks and that idea extended even to Independence. By the mid 1990s no-one was really celebrating it. In 1994 BGTA decided that we will keep it alive and for a time we were the only ones doing it and we kept the name alive… until 2013 when we engineered the first national observation of majority rule (PLPs and FNMs, as well as other party representatives, the religious and civic sectors participated). Going forward, it is a day that should be embraced by all.” Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said as much: “Majority rule belongs to all Bahamians. We should celebrate this day as one Bahamas, as one people united in one love and service to our Commonwealth.” What has happened to the revolution? Former Senator Philip Galanis addressed this during his commentary during the 50th
anniversary and echoed it during the lecture at Mt Olive: “Today the chasm separating the majority from those who have won their vote is larger than ever. Unlike yesteryear when the people were an integral part of the lives of those who represented them so that they could better speak on their behalf, today many of those who govern do not interact with the majority of the people to stay in close touch with their goals and aspirations. Today it is almost as if the governed and the governing were not two parts of a whole but more like two separate entities with two different agendas. “It is sad but true that neither of the recent administrations would make their antecedents proud that they have raised us to new heights. Unfortunately, they failed to build on the dream of the first fathers of freedom to enhance Bahamian ownership of our economy. “While we have achieved majority rule in the political sphere, we are disappointingly far away from economic independence and ownership. This could have been achieved had the inheritors stuck to the script that was drafted by the first fathers of freedom and overwhelmingly approved by the voice of the majority, first at that election of 1967 and then at subsequent polls.” Looking at majority rule as a Nassau-centric event is also a
THE NEWLY appointed members of the House of Assembly after majority rule, with Lynden Pindling, front left, standing alongside Sir Ralph Grey, governor of The Bahamas (1964-1968), later Lord Grey of Naunton.
misconception, according to Professor Christopher Curry. During his presentation, he gave a Family Island perspective. Thinking of Nassau initially is understandable, he said, given the dramatic events that unfolded in the capital including the Burma Road Riot, General Strike and Black Tuesday. “Unfortunately, this narrative obfuscates the importance that the Family Islands have played in the unfolding Quiet Revolution— a term that Doris Johnson so aptly coined in describing the political changes that occurred between 1942 and 1967,” Curry said. “In order to understand the importance that the Family Islanders played in the Quiet Revolution, we must first explore the political, social and economic backdrop of these islands and their communities—the ways in which they suffered tremendous degradation, exploitation, marginality, underdevelopment and social inequality. It was indeed these conditions that led common people in the far flung islands of The Bahamas to stand up and challenge the oppressive system.”
H
E spoke on the strong delineations of race back then on the islands – all white settlements like Spanish Wells and Hope Town; all black settlements like Matthew Town and Rolleville; and “bi-racial bifurcated” towns like Green Turtle Cay, Marsh Harbour and Harbour Island. He spoke on the polarisation of race and uprisings - like violence in Harbour Island in 1860 when whites wanted to build a new cricket ground on land used by blacks for truck farming; in 1885 when five coloured men tested the custom that whites enter the Methodist church by one door and non-whites by another; and the 1937 riot in Inagua when racial tension exploded into violence. Speaking specifically on majority rule, Curry pointed out: “George Thompson played a crucial part in achieving the 18 count for the PLP. Mr Thompson, a black man, was a former UBP who had fallen out with his party. He was popular in Eleuthera and delivered two seats - his and Preston Albury’s - to the PLP. Without him, the PLP would have lost. Alvin Braynen, (Harbour Island) was identified with the Old Guard UBP but was feuding with them at the time and so he ran as an independent candidate in 1967. It is doubtful that Sir Alvin was motivated by any strong belief in what the progressives had been advocating. More likely he was motivated by revenge or personal
ambition. He threw in his lot with the PLP and accepted the post of Speaker of the House. “Another little-known factor in the PLP’s performance was that Sir Lynden had to be persuaded to run in the Kemp’s Bay (South Andros) constituency against the popular Cyril Stevenson. Mr Stevenson, a founding member of the PLP, left the party in 1965 over the mace incident and the party’s boycott of parliament. He did not join Paul Adderley’s NDP but ran as an independent. Sir Lynden was reluctant to leave his safe seat in New Providence but his NCPA friends rightly judged that he was the only PLP candidate who could defeat Mr Stevenson. Sir Lynden won and continued to represent Kemp’s Bay until he left the House in 1997.” Human rights activist Jospeh Darville warned that “the curse of enslavement still hangs around our necks”. “For fear of retribution, many, too many of us, cling to the old vestiges of the plantation,” he said. “Our masters now, only having changed colour and having elevated themselves to the status of demi-gods, have so fine-tuned their capricious power and control over us, that mental enslavement has become their special art. Thus, our promised land is nowhere even on the horizon. My lamentation is that we are more enslaved now under our own native leaders than we were under our white slave masters. “In such a state of affairs, one can conclude that the state of human rights in this nation is defunct, not even in ICU, but in rigour mortis, having for too long under gone the rites of extreme unction (last rites). Sadly, we have yet to see the birth of real freedom in this land. As a matter of fact, if what has been now called the Spy Bill had been passed, our individual freedom especially of privacy and public utterances would have been drastically curtailed, if not totally abolished. It would have indeed further shackled our most precious gift of freedom to express. Essentially, we have gotten rid of one set of slave masters and embraced another; and that ‘another’ is even more pernicious. For when our own - knowledgeable about every iota of our psyche -enslave us, they do so with even more vengeance, for they have fine-tuned the technique of psychological enslavement as an art. “We do not need a revolution, not even a silent one. We need an evolution of consciousness and an awareness of our greatness, something we seemed to have missed over 52 years of so called majority rule and some 46 years of political independence.”
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, January 29, 2019, PAGE 9
Desperate mother in hunt for 12-year-old daughter By RIEL MAJOR
A MOTHER’S worst nightmare has become reality for Natasha Jean with her 12-year-old daughter missing for more than six weeks. Ms Jean said she hasn’t seen or heard from Yolande Mercidieu since December 14 last year. “She came after school, changed her clothes, leaving her uniform on the bed, went out and I haven’t seen her (since),” the distressed mother told The Tribune yesterday. “She will go out for long hours, but will always come back home; this is the first time she has never returned. All of her clothes are at my house, so someone is giving her clothes to wear and food to eat... someone must be harbouring her.” The mother of five is stressed out and expressed her concern for the wellbeing of her daughter. “I feel bad...I feel bad as a mother. I’m concerned, my pressure was up, I had to go to the doctor twice since my daughter hasn’t returned home. I registered her at DW Davis, and my daughter didn’t want to go there and someone else registered her at CH Reeves, so we don’t know if these are people who maybe befriending her. “She went to school from September to December and from the 14th onward no one has seen her. “People (have) reported seeing her at different places only late at night and very early in the morning but not during the day. They aren’t sending her to school, so she is missing out on her
education. She hasn’t been to school from the year started. “We have done all we can, now the responsibility is now on the person or persons that are harbouring her and allowing her as a minor to live with someone I’m not aware of.” Janet Hutchinson, chief guidance counsellor at Centreville Primary, said Yolande was graduated from the school last June and officials there are concerned about her. She said: “Right now we just want her home with her mother and family. Yolande is a pleasant girl and a good communicator. Maybe she wants to do what she wants to do and not listen to her mother, but mommy only works two days out of the week, and she provides with the best of her ability. “Yolande is a minor and if you have a child in your house who is not your blood and you know she belongs to someone else you should reach out to the parent to find out what is going on. You don’t harbour that child.” Ms Hutchinson said people have been searching Minnie Street, the Englerston area and Wulff Road for Yolande. “We have been giving out flyers, but no one is spotting her at this time, and she needs to be spotted,” she added. Ms Hutchinson said people have seen the child since she last left home and they are assuming she has the freedom to move around. She hopes Yolande returns to her mother. Meanwhile an employee of the Department of Social Services’
Rehabilitative/Welfare Unit said the department is actively assisting the Central Detective Unit in the case. The worker, who did not want to be named, said: “We have gone to Urban Renewal and we’ve also went into the community where she was last seen, and we handed out flyers and questioned any neighbours who was willing to speak with us, that is as much as the department can do. We don’t actively investigate unless we would have had a lead and we would have relayed the lead on to the missing (persons) unit, that’s the only thing we can do. We did hand out flyers and attempted to assist with the circulation on social media and speak to any of the friends involved. “We were the ones who spoke to the parent to see if she can possibly go on when we first decided that the police force wasn’t helping the way we feel the way they should have been helping, because the first flyer that has been circulated stated she was 14 and so we had to basically start over again and let them know she is not 14 she is 12 and call every day to try probe them, but that is all the department can do. We don’t have the resources to actively investigate, we can only aid with persons doing the investigation.” The Tribune attempted to contact CH Reeves for comment, but efforts were unsuccessful. The Royal Bahamas Police Force is urging anyone who might have seen Yolande or know of her whereabouts to contact the Central Detective Unit at (242)-502-9991.
NATASHA Jean holding a picture of her daugher Yolande
PAGE 10, Tuesday, January 29, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
School policing strategies working well, says Dames By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames has lauded current school policing strategies, telling reporters yesterday that law enforcement officers on campuses are positively impacting crime trends. Mr Dames was addressing questions from The Tribune on reports that a marine biology teacher at CV Bethel High School was injured during an altercation with two male students
last week, an incident which led to the suspension of classes at that school for nearly a week. “Law enforcement never left the school and the presence of our officers continue to positively impact our students, their safety and limits the escalation of minor matters,” the Mount Moriah MP said on the sidelines on an honour roll ceremony at his alma mater, Government High School. When asked directly if the reported incident at C V Bethel should result
NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames. in more stringent policies and protocols at certain secondary schools moving forward, Mr Dames said there was no need for panic or over-reaction, stressing the country’s school system is “as safe as it has ever been”. “I saw the reports on social media, I don’t know if that was the full scope of what happened. But, to your question, law enforcement never left the school. You see the presence of law enforcement here at GHS. “This is working,” he said. “Our strategies and our policies are working and we continue to improve on them. Look around you, I mean every time there is a situation you find yourself in a position where you would need to review your strategies and policies, and we intend
to do that here. But there is no need for mass panic and fear. “Do we need to do somethings differently, we’ll have to decide that moving forward, but as far as we are aware, we continue to, through the police force, create a presence that is seen and felt throughout the country – not just schools. “What you can expect moving forward too is a greater presence as we continue to ramp up, in terms of recruitment, as we continue to adjust our strategies moving forward.” Mr Dames continued: “That’s what we promised as a government moving in, and we are living up to that promise day in and day out. If you can recall, since we came to office, there have been less reported incidents of crime around our schools. “That is a result of improved strategies by the police.” Mr Dames said the Ministry of National Security is preparing to better engage members of the public, aiming primarily at establishing a “workable and respected” presence in crime heavy communities through organisations like the National Neighbourhood Watch Council. “We are building on what we have and finding new ways to address crime at all levels,” he said, “but
key in that fight is ensuring that are communities are safe and our children protected.” School-based policing was first introduced in 2002 by the first Christie administration and re-implemented in 2012 during the second Christie term. When implemented in 2012, it was explained an inspector will have direct responsibility for the assignment of officers within each division. The school-based police officer would have a reporting relationship with the inspector of his division and the principal of the relevant school. Last August, Mr Dames touted his version of the initiative ahead of start of the 2018-2019 academic year, calling for officers to be stationed at schools and an increased police presence in and around school zones. “We hope to enhance the initiatives that were in place,” Mr Dames told reporters outside of Cabinet at the time. “We’ll do that through increased visibility, more use of resources, greater presence within the school zones from officers on foot patrols to traffic officers.” The last major incident occurring on a school campus was the 2017 nonfatal stabbing of male student of Government High School.
‘NO RESISTANCE TO POLICE OFFICERS USING BODYCAMS’ By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net POLICE Commissioner Anthony Ferguson yesterday said officers are “very receptive” to the use of bodycams, adding he does not expect any resistance to the implementation of this technology. Commissioner Ferguson made these remarks on the sidelines of the opening of the control tactics and aerobics room of the RBPF’s fitness centre. When asked if he thinks police officers will adapt well to the use of body cameras or if he expects resistance, Commissioner Ferguson replied: “No, no, no. This is professional organisation. It’s always ways that you need to up your game, make it more professional, bring into line with international policing. “And the officers are very receptive, because you know we had the testing. And so there’s nothing to be — any resistance will come in respect to that, no.” During a press conference earlier this month, Commissioner Ferguson said the bodycam programme is expected to come on stream this year. “We believe in (transparency),” he said at the time. “And so very, very soon you will see bodycams being worn. We are very, very close to acquiring that… I can tell you that it’s much closer today than it has been. “And so you will find that the Ministry of National Security will be making a statement on who should... be awarded the contract to provide body cams to the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF).”
POLICE Commissioner Anthony Ferguson. During yesterday’s interview, Commissioner Ferguson also addressed the importance of the addition of the control tactics and aerobics room at the RBPF fitness centre, located on the police college campus. He added this addition “absolutely” contributes to the upgrading of the force. “It’s all a part of officers’ safety,” he said. “You have to be able to perform in the midst of extreme danger, extreme adverse situations. And so, here we are.” Regarding the presence of the senior command of the RBPF, the commissioner said: “We want to excite the members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, particularly those front line officers. “And I believe that if they see us come out — whether if we are able to do two minutes or not – I think this will excite them. All of them would now be aware that the gym is officially open and I truly wish that every member of the (RBPF) would take advantage of it, and the persons who will run it would really put the structure and plans in place to make sure the
officers are fit, including myself.” When asked how important officers’ fitness is to the fight against crime, Commissioner Ferguson replied: “Well you know we have to sometime(s) run down people, and you don’t want to be on the losing end.” During his remarks during the opening ceremony, the commissioner said he and his senior command devised the plan for an aerobics area to assist officers’ energy levels. “We recognised that we needed an indoor area (where) we can really train the officers in really tactics. When you get out there sometimes, you have to do some things in order to restrain people, in a professional way. Hence we made this room a multifaceted area. “I also brought my executive team (to yesterday’s ceremony) because the top must be physically fit and then it trickles right down to the bottom. There’s no reason why police officers are not to be fit. I will continue to do my endeavour best to make sure that we have all of the facilities and equipment necessary to make this force a great force.”
MAN IN EXUMA DIED AFTER COAST GUARD FLIES CRUISE VEHICLE FELL ON TOP OF HIM SHIP WORKER TO SAFETY A MAN in Exuma is dead after a vehicle he was working under fell on top of him, police said. The incident happened after 3pm on Sunday. Police said the man was working under a hoisted vehicle on his property in the settlement of Mt Thompson, when it fell on top of him. He sustained serious injuries and was transported to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An investigation is ongoing.
AN employee on a cruise ship was rescued by the US Coast Guard some 200 miles off Nassau in The Bahamas, according to international reports. 7 News Miami reported that Coast Guard service members airlifted a 43-year-old worker from the cruise ship “after something had lodged in the man’s throat.” The worker was transported to a hospital in Nassau for treatment, according to the report. It is unclear when the incident occurred.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, January 29, 2019, PAGE 11
SUPREME COURT ACQUITS MAN OVER TEENAGE SHOOTING By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A SUPREME Court jury unanimously acquitted a man yesterday of shooting a teenager in the head and killing him near a park on Flint Street seven years ago. The jury found Charles Williams aka Charles Johnson not guilty of murdering 19-year-old Diontroy Moxey aka “Muggy” on August 25, 2013. Moxey was found dead with a gunshot wound near a park on Flint and Taylor Streets. Police reportedly did not indicate how he died at the time. According to the evidence led at trial before Acting Justice Andrew Forbes, the Crown’s key witness Paul Murray, who said he
was close friends with Moxey, said sometime after 5pm on August 24, 2013, he had just gotten off from work and decided to go by the park in question. He later left the park and went to his home on Honeycomb Street to check on his family. After doing so, he went outside to his car, where he came across Moxey. Mr Murray said he subsequently gave Moxey a ride to the T-junction by Comfort Street and Woods Alley. Mr Murray said once at that location, Moxey got out of his car and started talking to a girl for about 10 to 15 minutes. Then, Mr Murray said he saw Williams, his cousin, approach Moxey and the girl and join the conversation, though he said he could not hear because he was still in his car. Mr Murray said a police patrol
car passed them, after which he flickered his headlights in a bid to tell Moxey that it was time to leave. The witness said Moxey obliged and got back into the vehicle, but said Williams, without his permission, also got into his car and asked him for a ride to the food store so he could get three Kalik beers. Mr Murray said he did so, driving through Woods Alley and onto Market Street before ultimately arriving at the food store. Once there, Mr Murray said he told Williams, “We reach.” However, he said his cousin kissed his teeth and said he didn’t want the beers anymore. Mr Murray said he said “okay” before heading back towards his home. He said he turned onto Ross Corner before heading onto
East Street. He said he ended up stopping at a bar on that road and asked his cousin: “You still getting the beers?” However, he said Williams said no, and so he turned back onto Flint Street and headed towards wherever Moxey was due to get off. Upon arriving there, however, Murray said he noticed that neither Williams or Moxey were getting out of the car. He said when he looked back, he saw Williams holding a gun to Moxey’s head. Mr Murray said he consequently cried out: “Stop, don’t do that! Don’t do that!” However, he said Williams’ reply to him was “shut up” or otherwise get shot. Mr Murray said afterwards, Williams leapt over the front seat, still holding Moxey hostage, and
exited the car. Mr Murray said after Williams and Moxey got out of his car, he pulled off. About 10 seconds later, Mr Murray said he heard gunshots. After hearing the gunshots, the witness said he went back to his home to check on his family. Mr Murray said he did not see Moxey alive after that evening. He said about three weeks later on September 13, 2013, he went to the Central Detective Unit (CDU), and participated in an identification parade in which he picked out Williams as the shooter. However, the jury ultimately rejected Murray’s testimony by virtue of their acquittal of Williams. Williams was represented by attorney Calvin Seymour.
THE GOVERNMENT High School hosted their Students’ Recognition Ceremony yesterday under the theme ‘Excellence Begins with Me’. Travis Robinson, Bain and Grants Town MP, top left, gave the keynote address. Above, Principal Eloise Whyms talks to the students. Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
Work hard and you’ll do well, MP Robinson tells students By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net BAIN and Grants Town MP Travis Robinson yesterday urged students at Government High School not to let their circumstances dictate their future, imploring them to recognise their time as students provides them with an opportunity to create better lives. Mr Robinson made his call while delivering the key note address at the school’s award ceremony, held to honour students who earned a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher last term. The former parliamentary secretary, highlighting his upbringing in Bain and Grants Town and being bullied while in school, told
students their current sacrifices and shortcomings would eventually become a launching point for their future successes. Mr Robinson, in recalling times he considered dropping out of school, said it took his failures and intense want to succeed to spur his turn-around, a decision he said has propelled both him and his family into a better life. “But it wasn’t easy. It took discipline and dedication, it took a belief in myself to know that excellence begins with me,” he told the students. “I can’t keep blaming my friends and classmates for making noise on the side of me. “I can’t keep blaming the brothers on the blocks when I go down to the mall with them, leaning against the wall spying on all the lil’
chicks walking past. That I can’t keep making mistakes and blaming everybody for why I don’t succeed in life,” Mr Robinson added. “So when I see young brothers who think they are the end all and be all, the big bad bullies on the blocks, so I tell you Government High School, the young boys and brothers out here - ain’t nothing cute about walking down the street with your pants below your hip aye, ain’t nothing cute about it and it sure ain’t excellence. “Holding up gun you… walking with a big clip don’t make you any more less protected than you are when you are by yourself. So at some point I want you to realise that this culture, this nation is depending on each and every one of you as young people. That
whether or not our nation succeeds is in each and every one of your hands.” Mr Robinson challenged the female students to not become victims of teenage pregnancy. “I can remember so many young persons, so many young girls who graduated with me when I left C R Walker and today they have three and four children; two and three years later after graduation walking around with three and four children,” he said. “GHS young ladies don’t let that be your story. You have the opportunity today to make the decisions you want for a better life tomorrow. “. . .What is your moral? What is your principle? How long are you willing to go? “Mothers and fathers
make sacrifices for you every day. Teachers come to school and they teach you the best they can. We are in a country where we enjoy the right to free education, you don’t have to pay to come to school – it is free.” Also on hand for yesterday’s ceremony was National Security Minister Marvin Dames, a graduate of Government High School and current member of Parliament for Mount Moriah. Mr Dames applauded the school for its continued excellence and encouraged students to view graduates like him and sports heroes, Pauline Davis-Thompson and Eldece Clark, as examples of what could happen if they worked hard and dedicated themselves to success. Mr Dames further
reminded students of their school’s exemplary history, telling them that GHS was once the pride of the Bahamas - insisting that it was time for current students return the school to its former glory. In total five students Oliva Ferguson, Tametrya Brown, Israel Johnson, Anne-Jeanclouse Chachoute and Zaria Major - were named to the school’s principal list, obtaining GPAs between 3.5 and 4.0. More than 50 others were named to the honour roll list, obtaining GPAs between 3.0 and 3.5. The school also celebrated the recent national success of its debate and volleyball teams, with both squads capturing championships this academic year.
PAGE 12, Tuesday, January 29, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
KIWANIS governor of the Eastern Canada and Caribbean region, Nelford Clarke; Kiwanis president-elect, Shanta Knowles and Kiwanis lieutenant governor-elect Christopher Rahming.
JUST HAND IT TO THESE STUDENTS
THE KEY Club of Anatol Rodgers along with Kiwanis Club of Cable Beach yesterday held their Hand Print Project with special needs students at the school who had painted a portion of the wall by placing their palm prints on it using austism spectrum colours. Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, January 29, 2019, PAGE 13
POLICE ARREST 12 IN STRIP CLUB SWOOP
from page one While the women are expected to be charged before a Magistrate’s Court in the coming days for infringing statute laws, it is unclear what charges they will face. An official from the RBPF said it is likely they will face charges for immigration offences. “The operation’s objective was to infiltrate the illicit nightlife circuit in New Providence by strategically targeting strip clubs
throughout the island,” immigration officials said in a press statement released yesterday. “In particular, the aforementioned arrests were made at the Xclusive Sporting Lounge (Faith Avenue North), New Twilight Restaurant and Sporting Lounge (Robinson Road) and Cheetahs Upscale Bikini Sporting Lounge (East Bay Street) and the foreign nationals were transported to the Detention Centre, Carmichael Road for processing.” The Department of
Immigration’s Enforcement Unit was headed by Chief Immigration Officer Harold Thurston, Senior Immigration Officer Vonetta Darling-Flowers and K-9 Unit Supervisor Officer David Rolle. The RBPF’s Southwest Division was led by Police Sargent 2581 Kerr and PC 3555 Simmons. This is the latest immigration arrest in recent weeks, as officials all over the country crack down on illegal migration. Last Thursday, 62 Haitians were repatriated from Freeport, Grand
Bahama to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on board a Bahamasair charter flight under heavy escort by law enforcement officers. According to the Department of Immigration, 33 of the migrants were arrested in New Providence for various immigration offences and 29 were apprehended in Grand Bahama. Twenty-five of the Grand Bahama group were arraigned last week in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court. The group was repatriated after 8am.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said the government remains committed to aggressively dealing with the country’s immigration problems, which, he said, poses a serious threat to major sectors of society. The prime minister said he is aware there were many Bahamians who feel not much has been done to stop illegal immigrants, but he insisted that “a lot” has been accomplished.
PAGE 14, Tuesday, January 29, 2019
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Date agreed for State of the Union address WASHINGTON Associated Press
PRESIDENT Donald Trump yesterday accepted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s invitation to deliver his State of the Union speech on February 5, a week later than originally scheduled because of the partial government shutdown. “It is my great honor to accept,” Trump said in a letter to Pelosi. “We have a great story to tell and yet, great goals to achieve!” The speech had initially been scheduled for January 29, but Pelosi postponed it amid what turned into a 35-day partial government shutdown over Trump’s demand for border wall funding. It was the first known time that a speaker had rescinded an invitation to deliver the State of the Union. “When I wrote to you on January 23rd, I stated that we should
work together to find a mutually agreeable date when government has reopened to schedule this year’s State of the Union address,” Pelosi wrote. “In our conversation today, we agreed on February 5. “Therefore,” she continued, “I invite you to deliver your State of the Union address before a Joint Session of Congress on February 5, 2019 in the House Chamber.” Pelosi’s office and the White House said that the House speaker and president had spoken by phone Monday afternoon. The House and Senate still must pass a resolution officially inviting Trump to speak to a joint session of Congress. Pelosi had postponed the speech, first as a “suggestion” and later, after Trump declared his intent to appear anyway, as a formal rescission. The president then refused to allow her to lead a delegation overseas on the military jets he commands. Finally,
last Friday, Trump capitulated. All sides agreed to fund the government through to February 15 to give negotiators time to discuss border security. And yesterday Pelosi confirmed the State of the Union was back on — on her schedule. The Constitution states only that the president “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union,” meaning the president can speak anywhere he chooses or give his update in writing. • THE Justice Department unsealed criminal charges yesterday against Chinese tech giant Huawei, two of its subsidiaries and a top executive, who are accused of misleading banks about the company’s business and violating US sanctions. The company is also charged in a separate case with stealing trade secrets from T-Mobile, according to federal prosecutors.
HOUSE Speaker Nancy Pelosi Prosecutors are seeking to extradite the company’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, and allege she committed fraud by misleading banks about Huawei’s business dealings in Iran. She was arrested in December in Canada. The criminal charges in Brooklyn and Seattle come as trade
talks between China and the US are scheduled for this week. “As I told high-level Chinese law enforcement officials in August_we need more law enforcement cooperation with China,” acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker said at a news conference with other Cabinet officials. “China should be concerned about criminal activities by Chinese companies_and China should take action.” US prosecutors charge that Huawei used a Hong Kong shell company to sell equipment in Iran in violation of US sanctions. Huawei had done business in Iran through a Hong Kong company called Skycom and alleged that Meng misled U.S. banks into believing the two companies were separate, according to the Justice Department. The announcement includes a 10-count grand jury indictment in Seattle, and a separate 13-count case from prosecutors in New York.
US HITS VENEZUELA WITH OIL SANCTIONS WASHINGTON Associated Press
THE BIG CHILL
HEAVY snow and wind created blizzard-like conditions yesterday across America’s midwest, prompting the cancellation of about 1,000 flights at Chicago airports and the closure of hundreds of schools. Above, people fighting a snowstorm in Michigan.
THE Trump administration imposed sanctions yesterday on the stateowned oil company of Venezuela, a potentially critical economic move aimed at increasing pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to cede power to the opposition in the South American nation. Maduro’s increasingly isolated government would lose access to one of its most important sources of income and foreign currency along with around $7 billion in assets of Petroleos De Venezuela SA under the sanctions announced by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and national security adviser John Bolton. The move follows the unusual decision by the US and other nations last week to recognise the opposition leader of the
National Assembly, Juan Guaido, as the interim president of Venezuela instead of Maduro, who was re-elected last year in an election widely seen as fraudulent. The once prosperous nation has been in an economic collapse, with several million citizens fleeing to neighboring countries. “We have continued to expose the corruption of Maduro and his cronies, and today’s action ensures they can no longer loot the assets of the Venezuelan people,” Bolton said at a White House news conference. Bolton said he expects yesteday’s actions will result in more than $11 billion in lost export proceeds over the next year. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed that the new sanctions do not target the people of Venezuela and will not affect humanitarian assistance.
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