By Staff writer
By his own admission the ‘senior politician’ referred to by the Royal Cayman Islands Police Force in several recent press releases about an arrest on historical rape allegations, is MP for West Bay West McKeeva Bush, the former Speaker and former Chief Minister of the Cayman Islands.
In one statement dated June 28th, the RCIP said it “can confirm that a senior politician attended the Cayman Islands Detention Centre (on) Wednesday 28 June, and was arrested and formally charged with Rape and Indecent Assault, in relation to a criminal complaint of a sexual nature dating back to 2000. The accused appeared in Court this morning via Zoom.”
Mr Bush has pleaded not guilty and is adamantly proclaiming his innocence.
The matter has been picked up by the international press, with the American ABC News reporting that Mr Bush told the Associated Press(AP) news agency in a statement that he ‘rejected, denied and pleaded not guilty to what he called “this evil plot” and malicious accusation”.’
“Truth will come out. This is done by someone I never had any contact with,” he asserted.
Cayman Islands Premier Wayne Panton has issued a statement on the matter saying the news of the charges against Mr Bush “has no doubt been met with concern across our community.”
“These charges are serious,” the Premier commented. But he noted that “given the sensitive nature of the same, the rights of the parties involved and the fact that matter should now be regarded as sub judice, it is inappropriate for me to comment further other than to say that I believe in the integrity of our judicial system and this is now a matter for the courts to address.”
Meanwhile, the Leader of the parliamentary opposition, Roy McTaggart who heads the People’s Progressive Movement(PPM) party, is putting pressure on the Premier to remove Mr Bush from the parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on the basis of his latest legal woes.
“We now ask whether Premier Panton intends to continue allowing Mr Bush to remain as part of the PACT Government, and sit on the government benches, and to also allow him to continue as a member of the Public Accounts Committee,” the PPM leader said in a press release.
“Mr Bush is currently facing other serious charges against him involving two females,” McTaggart said. “That case will be going to trial later this year. Also, in December 2020, Mr Bush pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct and two counts of assault on a female.”
This is the most recent legal trouble faced by the former Speaker, ex-chief minister and long-standing MP for West Bay West.
He is facing trial after being charged earlier this year with disorderly conduct and assaulting a woman. In the ensuing political turmoil, Mr Bush formally relinquished the position of Speaker of Parliament after he was called on by Premier Panton to step down.
In 2020 he was convicted on charges of assault against a woman and received a 60-day custodial sentence suspended for two years and placed under a curfew.
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