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Volume:117 No.63, FEBRUARY, 21ST, 2020

Weekend

WEEKEND: WAR VETERAN FINDING PEACE IN SONG

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

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Weekend

Online platform pays $200k to cover ‘lost’ Dorian donations

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net CROWDFUNDING giant GoFundMe will donate more than $200,000 to the HeadKnowles Foundation, signalling its support for Gina Knowles as she tries to recover funds from charity co-founder Lia Head-Rigby.

Mrs Head-Rigby, who split from the charity last September, withdrew funds that she did not send to the foundation as mandated, according to Bobby Whithorne, director of GoFundMe’s North America communications.

His statement to The Tribune came after Ms Knowles sued Mrs HeadRigby and her husband in

Florida, alleging they have withheld Hurricane Dorian GoFundMe donations. Mrs Head-Rigby has denied the allegations in the lawsuit saying her “hands are clean”.

The GoFundMe campaign attracted nearly $1.5 million in donations since the deadly September storm.

Mr Whithorne said because the organisation’s payment processor, WePay, does not support direct transfers to the Bahamas, the funds were transferred to Mrs Head-Rigby’s US Bank of America Account and were then supposed to be transferred to the HeadKnowles Foundation locally.

THE Netherlands yesterday demanded The Bahamas implement a corporate income tax at 9 percent or higher as the price to escape tax noncooperation “blacklist”. In response, Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest said that The Bahamas “will not be dictated to be any foreign state”.

His comments came after a Dutch finance official, responding to this newspaper’s inquiries, said its tax

‘upcycling’

pages 14 & 15

DIANE PHILLIPS

THE CULTURE OF POWER IS CHANGING BEFORE OUR EYES SEE PAGE EIGHT

‘HALTING AIRLINE JUSTIFIED’ BAHAMAS Customs yesterday said it was cracking down on potential “abuses” by private aircraft in response to concerns that it has grounded Abaco’s only air freight provider post-Dorian. The agency did not say Abaco Freight was responsible for potential issues its officers had identified through “enhanced monitoring” of incoming flights to the island.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

SEE PAGE THREE

blacklist criteria is “made up differently” from that of the 27-nation European Union. The Bahamas was this week removed from the bloc’s monitoring “grey list” after being deemed to have fully implemented all the reforms required.

However, The Bahamas remains on the national blacklists of both France and the Netherlands with a Dutch official saying: “A country gets a place on the Dutch list when there either is no corporation tax or a corporation tax rate that is lower than 9 percent.”

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Page 13

By NEIL HARTNELL & YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Desk

$10K FOR SCOTIA’S BLUNDER

‘BLACKLIST STAYS TIL YOU HAVE CORPORATION TAX’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

JEANS FOR CURVES

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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

HEADKNOWLES Foundation co-founder Lia Head-Rigby who, along with her husband, has been accused of withholding Hurricane Dorian donations.

‘THAT’S NOT YOUR JOB, MR SPEAKER’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net AS AN “impartial arbiter,” House Speaker Halson Moultrie should not be calling for action or legislation on any matter regardless of his convictions, attorney Wayne Munroe insisted yesterday.

Instead, Mr Munroe said Mr Moultrie should curb his expression and public comments if they are not

SPEAKER Halson Moultrie related to parliamentary affairs and decorum in the lower chamber. Mr

Moultrie was contacted for comment after he told the House of Assembly on Wednesday that he had reviewed the Penal Code to see if something could be done regarding obscene language in social media videos. He said something needed to be done about the issue as it was “eroding” the country’s moral fabric.

He also expressed regret that National Security

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE SEVEN

A BAHAMIAN QC has won $10,000 in damages from Scotiabank after it closed his law firm’s bank accounts without warning.

Justice Ian Winder ruled he was “not satisfied” the alleged failure of Maurice Glinton QC and his firm to meet the bank’s demands to verify their identities “warranted the immediate closure” of their accounts.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

sport

BASKETBALL MEN FALL TO MEXICO

PAGE 2, Friday, February 21, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

HAITIAN FACING YEAR IN JAIL FOR PASSPORT FRAUD

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A HAITIAN man was sentenced to a year in prison yesterday for trying to fraudulently obtain Bahamian citizenship by using a fake Haitian passport.

Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans sentenced 29-year-old Jamesly FilsAime, who had assumed the identity of Johnny Tannis to carry out his scheme, to a year behind bars for his actions between September 2019 and last month.

The judge further ordered Fils-Aime to pay a $500 fine for trying to deceive a public officer or serve four months in prison in default.

Prior to being sentenced, Fils-Aime pleaded guilty to one count each of attempted fraud; possession of false documents; uttering of a false document and deceit of a public officer.

Fils-Aime admitted to trying to fraudulently obtain Bahamian citizenship for himself between September 9, 2019 and January 28.

He further admitted to uttering and subsequently being caught with a fake Haitian passport in the name of Johnny Tannis on January 28.

He further admitted to using those documents to deceive an employee at the Bahamas Department of Immigration on January 29.

According to the facts read by the prosecutor Sergeant Kendrick Bauld, Fils-Aime was arrested for

JAMESLY Fils-Aime outside court yesterday Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff breach of the Immigration Department officers, FilsAct. Aime said he was born in At the time of his arrest, the Bahamas to Haitian he had a Haitian passport parents; he also said at the issued by the Haitian Con- time that he was taken to sulate in the Bahamas in Haiti as a child by his parthe name of Johnny Tannis, ents and returned to the date of birth May 3, 1985 Bahamas illegally in July of with a photo attached. last year.

The passport indicated Fils-Aime was subsethat Tannis’ place of birth quently tried and convicted was Freeport, Grand for illegal landing.

Bahama. Fils-Aime also Further inquiries were had a Bahamian birth cer- conducted at the Passport tificate bearing Tannis’ Office which revealed that name. the photographs of the real When later inter- Johnny Tannis were not viewed by Immigration Fils-Aime and that the real

Johnny Tannis had left the Bahamas some time ago.

As a result the matter was reported to the police.

On Tuesday, Fils-Aime was cautioned and arrested by officers of the Anti Corruption Unit while at the Detention Centre. He was then booked in at the Carmichael Road police station and later taken to his residence on Bahama Avenue.

While there, officers spoke with an elderly woman of Haitian descent, Elianne Alexander Tannis, who said that Fils-Aime showed up at her residence claiming to be her nephew.

She said while she could not confirm if Fils-Aime was actually her nephew, she allowed him to stay at her residence.

Fils-Aime was later interviewed under caution with the assistance of interpreter Charlene Jean when he admitted that his real name was Jamesly FilsAime. He said he took on Tannis’ identity to secure Bahamian status.

As a result of that information, an investigation was conducted by the police that led officers to the Haitian Embassy, the Registrar’s General Department as well as the Department of Immigration where officers recorded statements from the relevant personnel.

It was subsequently discovered that Fils-Aime did have another Haitian passport in his real name that he used to enter the Bahamas on July 27, 2019.

JEAN Joseph yesterday Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

BAIL IS DENIED AS MAN FACES MURDER CHARGE

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A Haitian-Bahamian man was charged in Magistrates Court yesterday with murdering another man last weekend.

Jean Joseph aka “Zoe” stood before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt charged with the death of Roderick Taylor on February 15.

According to reports, shortly after 2am, the body of a man was discovered on Ross Corner with apparent stab wounds.

Paramedics were called and attempted to revive

him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A short time later, police acting on intelligence went to a residence on Ross Corner where they arrested a man in connection with this incident.

Joseph was not required to enter a plea to the charge and the matter was adjourned to April 28 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Bail was denied and he was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in the interim.

He has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

1,400 have signed up for repairs plan, says Clarke

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net DISASTER Reconstruction Authority chairman John Michael Clarke announced that, as of Tuesday, more than 1,400 people have signed up to the Small Homes Repairs Programme.

The chairman gave the update yesterday while explaining the authority’s role and plans in the post-Hurricane Dorian restoration process at the Rotary Club of West Nassau.

Some vouchers have already been given out under the programme, which was launched last week.

The Rotary Club has pledged assistance with the authority’s technical assistance unit in Grand Bahama, to make certain people are registered.

Once people are approved for assistance, they must secure quotes for the repair work before the DRA doles out purchase orders in the relevant amount.

As far as work on Abaco was concerned, Mr Clarke noted power in the Marsh Harbour area should be back by April. Debris collection and removal were still ongoing on the decimated island and “very good progress” had been made in clearing public areas. At this point, the

authority, he said, was assisting private residents and private commercial businesses with clearing their land. The main challenge, however, is providing accommodation.

“There is a critical need for multi-family and rooms in the Marsh Harbour area,” he said. “What has happened is people want to go back and a lot of them have destroyed properties and then workers need to get in the area in order to attend the reconstruction work.

“That being said we are in active discussion with the Department of Housing and they have provided for use in the Central Pines area

….. I think that’s 51 multifamily properties and we’re coming up with the strategy to develop an RFP where we hope to be inviting developers to participate and provide duplexes, triplexes and quads that could be used for rentals and rooms so that have a place to say when they get back into Marsh Harbour.”

During his presentation, he said a ‘buddy system’ for islands was being considered in an event if one island goes down a crew from another one can come in and help.

This comes after government officials on the ground in Abaco were affected during the deadly

Category 5 Hurricane Dorian. Administrators had no place to live and public offices could not function.

The chairman explained: “We were relying on administrators and government staff from the agency to assist in manning the response to Hurricane Dorian and I think for the first time in this country’s history. The persons we were relying on to manage the impact, they were so severely impacted that management became critically difficult. When I mean critically difficult, almost to the point for all intents and purposes we almost lost government function in Abaco for a while.”

Mr Clarke added plans are being finalised with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the framework of utilising pledges from the UNDP conference last month.

“Out of the recent pledge conference with UNDP there’s an account that has been established…..

There’s a certain framework because that trust fund that we’ve established with UNDP is a joint trust fund. They have some guidelines on how that fund should be administered, so we’re working with them to finalise the administrative framework for that fund,” the chairman said.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, February 21, 2020, PAGE 3

HEADKNOWLES CONTROVERSY A3MAIN

GoFundMe pays $200k to cover ‘lost’ Dorian donations from page one “To be clear, more than one million dollars raised was transferred from Lia Head-Rigby to the benefiting organisation named on the fundraiser, the HeadKnowles Foundation,” Mr Whithorne said.

“Lia Head-Rigby withdrew but then did not transfer $217,645 to the HeadKnowles Foundation.

In the interim, WePay froze the remaining balance of $246,483,” he said.

“In order to protect GoFundMe donors, GoFundMe will donate $217,645 to the HeadKnowles Foundation while they try to recover the funds from Lia HeadRigby.

We encourage WePay to release the remaining $246,483 directly to the HeadKnowles Foundation. Our goal is to make

sure every dollar donated is transferred to the HeadKnowles Foundation, as was stated in the campaign.

GoFundMe will continue to work with all parties involved to help resolve the matter. At this point, the remaining balance is with WePay.” Mr Whithorne said his company prefers sending funds directly to organisations but can’t do that for Bahamas-based groups because of the limitations of WePay. “The money raised must be transferred to a bank account located in the US, and then transferred to the account of the Bahamas,” he said.

“GoFundMe’s priority is to fully protect all donors on the platform and to ensure the money raised goes to the intended use, in this case to the HeadKnowles Foundation for

THE TRIBUNE from page one “Head knew (this) and intentionally misrepresented their validity to GFM in order to begin the campaign,” it claims.

While the agreement she signed required she transfer funds raised to HeadKnowles in the Bahamas, the lawsuit alleges: “Head did not transfer all of the funds to the plaintiff as she attested that she would.

She perjured herself. Head converted funds and used them for her own purposes in violation of the attestation. Head’s scheme after Hurricane Dorian struck The Bahamas was to use the good name of the plaintiff and the empathy that would be evoked for the people for The Bahamas, in order to raise funds through GFM and ultimately help herself to those funds that she stated were intended to go to Bahamian victims.”

The GFM campaign raised about $1.5 million before it was closed. The funds were transferred from GFM to a personal Bank of America (BoA) account accessed by the women.

At first, in accordance with the GFM agreement, Mrs Head-Rigby transferred $ 737,070 from the BoA account to a Royal Bank of Canada account in The Bahamas which both women could access, according to the lawsuit.

That account, HEADKNOWLES Limited, was initially used in 2015 to accumulate funds raised for Hurricane Joaquin victims simultaneously with the establishment of a not-for profit corporation, HK Limited Company.

Although that not-for profit organisation became invalid in 2016 because annual filings were not made to the government, the lawsuit says the RBC account continued to accumulate funds for disaster relief efforts.

After sending GFM money to the RBC account, Mrs Head-Rigby allegedly began making “inappropriate withdrawals” from that account and to avoid detection by GFM or US bank authorities, she allegedly withdrew money from the RBC account rather than the BoA account, the lawsuit alleges.

Two withdrawals of $1,000 from the RBC account are highlighted in the lawsuit as sources of

Thursday, February 20, 2020, PAGE 3

$400k Dorian funds lawsuit

GINA KNOWLES, left, a co-founder of the HeadKnowles Foundation, with her former partner Lia Head-Rigby controversy that eventually led to the break-up of the charity group.

When confronted about the withdrawals, Mrs HeadRigby’s husband allegedly admitted in a WhatsApp chat that $1,000 was taken to pay for gas and groceries for his family and that the other was used by his wife for petty cash.

“Later on in the WhatsApp conversation, Head herself joins the conversation and realises that her husband, Rigby, admitted that she inappropriately took funds from the GFM

campaign,” the lawsuit alleges. “The very next day, on September 16, 2019, Head issued a press release announcing to the Bahamian media that she is no longer affiliated with the plaintiff. Head did this because she realised she was caught taking funds and attempted to separate herself from the plaintiff. From the moment of Head’s press release announcing to the world that she was no longer associated with plaintiff, Head stopped remitting funds to the plaintiff in violation of

her execution attestation to GFM.” After separating herself from HeadKnowles, Mrs Head-Rigby allegedly began paying herself $120,000 per year from crowdsourced funds in September 2019, despite being unemployed just weeks earlier, the suit claims. That same month, the Florida Department of Agriculture is said to have began asking her about the GFM campaign to see if she was complying with Florida law.

In an interview with The

Tribune yesterday, Mrs Head-Rigby denied she was paying herself such a salary.

Mrs Head-Rigby said: “We were trying to rent this house for a family and it was right down the road and the lady from the American company, the realty company, she said just write a letter, put a letter to say that you are the foundation and you are working. . .so I did that, it looks good. . .it’s a job letter for Italia Head-Rigby. . .and I put that the salary was $120,000 — there is no

$120,000 salary. That’s the only transgression I did, but (I did that) to get those families from Abaco and Grand Bahama a house and I’d do it again.”

The lawsuit says Mrs Head-Rigby later registered the Head Foundation in Florida, submitting a financial statement indicating the foundation had a revenue of $1,229,976.84, total expenses of $1,046,220.06 and a net fund balance of $183,756.78 for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019, according to the lawsuit.

“These values correlate to the amounts raised through the GFM campaign outlined,” the document says. “At the date of her application to the department, Head was telling the State of Florida, through her attorney, who stated the application was ‘true and accurate,’ that her new entity had received and spent approximately $1,046,220.

“In fact, what happened was that Head, after her press release on September 16, 2019, and after living on the brink of poverty with a personal bank account balance of $93.79, found herself in control of a sum of money she had never seen before and seized the opportunity to commence a lifestyle of the ‘rich and famous,’ and separate herself from the rightful possessor of those funds, the plaintiff and most importantly, the Bahamian victims of Hurricane Dorian. Head’s scheming, misrepresentations…to the plaintiff, GFM and the State of Florida is breathtaking.

Her conduct, in terms of brazen disregard for the law, rivals that of Bernie Madoff and Scott Rothstein.”

ABOVE: How The Tribune broke the news yesterday and, below, the GoFundMe page online last night which says ‘Deactivated’ at the top and has Lia Head-Rigby named as the organiser. It shows more than $1.5 million has been raised.

None of it is true - my hands are clean, insists Head-Rigby IN response to a lawsuit filed by the HeadKnowles Foundation that alleges she withheld Hurricane Dorian donations, Lia Head-Rigby maintained her complete innocence, saying her “hands are clean”.

When contacted by The Tribune, Mrs HeadRigby, co-founder of the foundation, said she only learned of the lawsuit after an American news crew showed up at her house in Florida yesterday seeking comment.

She claims she was fully transparent and compliant with the law during the whole Hurricane Dorian fundraising process — during which the foundation raised more than $1m after the deadly storm — and may file a countersuit for defamation.

“None of it’s true,” Mrs Head-Rigby said about the lawsuit’s allegations. “Every dime I have accounted for and I have been cleared by the Florida State Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, they’re the IRS of Florida.

They actually hold all the receipts, which is why so many receipts are in the

complaint. Gina (Knowles) wouldn’t have gotten them if I hadn’t sent them, right?

I have sent everything I scan, as soon as it’s done I upload to a folder and they have full access to all that.

So I’ve been in compliance since day one. And there’s just no way I am going to allow my name to go down these real serious rabbit holes.”

The lawsuit says that as of October 2019, the foundation’s GoFundMe account had raised $1.5m. However, only a little more than a million dollars has been turned over to the Bahamian NGO, the lawsuit alleges. More than $400,000 is in dispute.

Yesterday, Mrs HeadRigby confirmed that she sent the HeadKnowles Foundation more than $1 million. She said any money that she did not turn over was used for an “operations budget” as she needed funds to pay for logistics and transport of donated materials.

“My hands are clean.

I’m just so disappointed in Gina and this hunt for money that she’s always known where it is,” Mrs

Head-Rigby said. “We sent over a $1 million that was frozen by Ministry of Finance, the other money that she asked to be frozen for the GoFundMe that we pay because she said they were taking too long and they wanted to know where the money was.

“Everything was sent and the monies that I kept on this end for the operation budget. . .you know, as a Bahamian slash American over here, I am fundraising.

There’s nobody I can call here like in Nassau. . .we had quite a few volunteers for a week and that was that.

“I couldn’t send the relief if I didn’t have money to send it down. You can’t

ask America to do for free, Americans ain’t doing nothing for free. So I spent money on mostly transportation for shipping via plane, via boat, via FedEx once and we paid taxes. . .and Gina knew about it.”

Last September, Mrs Head-Rigby revealed she was stepping back from the foundation “with a heavy heart”. At the time, she said she was “disheartened by certain measures to defame my name and reputation as a Bahamian whose only goal has been to assist those devastated from natural disasters.”

Yesterday, she told The Tribune the split came after the $1m she sent to the HeadKnowles Foundation

was allegedly deposited in a Bahamian bank account that had her name on it, but to which she was not a signatory. She claimed she was not consulted about this.

According to the lawsuit, Ms Knowles and Mrs HeadRigby knew each other for some 20 years before

working together on disaster relief in 2015. Yesterday, Mrs Head-Rigby said she still loves her former colleague, in spite of the allegations.

“We did love each other,” she said. “I still love Gina. . . my hands are clean and it will come out in the end.”

hurricane relief in The Bahamas.”

As observers question whether Bahamian regulators will look into the controversy, John MichaelClarke, chairman of the Bahamas Disaster Reconstruction Recovery, said his interactions with HeadKnowles Foundation after Hurricane Dorian were positive.

“All I can hope is that the people who mean to do work continue to do the good they mean to do,” he told this newspaper.

In a video posted on Wednesday night, Ms Knowles called GoFundMe’s donation “fantastic” news.

“I am so––all of us––are so excited to give you this news and can’t wait to give you the next update,” she said.

GINA KNOWLES, left, with HeadKnowles Foundation charity co-founder Lia Head-Rigby

Editorial View - Page 4

Minnis: Lawsuit won’t affect flow of money

By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net DAYS after HeadKnowles Foundation sued its co-founder Lia HeadRigby, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said he is not concerned about the lawsuit affecting future donations to the country.

He also said the government has been very transparent about the assistance it has received post-Hurricane Dorian.

His comments came after the popular nonprofit group made headlines. This week Gina Knowles, co-founder of the HeadKnowles Foundation, filed a lawsuit against her former partner Mrs Head-Rigby and her husband, accusing them of using GoFundMe funds for personal use.

Ms Knowles also accused them of violating a mandate to send all of the donations to The Bahamas.

During a press conference held at Sir Lynden Pindling Airport yesterday, Dr Minnis was asked whether he was concerned that the matter would

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis negatively influence people’s decision to donate to the country.

“No,” he replied.

“The Bahamas is being extremely transparent,” Dr Minnis continued. “We’ve involved the international organisations (and) so we’re very open in terms of transparency. The monies that we would’ve collected, we’ve reported to you.

“I’ve said repeatedly that the minister with

ARMED MEN STEAL CASH & CAR ARMED men stole a man’s money and cell phone while he was in the Blue Hill Road area Wednesday night, police said. Shortly before 10pm, police said a man was outside a business on Blue Hill Road, north of School Lane, when he was approached by two men. One

of the men had a gun and robbed the man before both thieves escaped on foot.

Anyone with information on this or any other crime is asked contact the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991/2, Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station.

responsibility will make a report with Cabinet and Parliament very often so that we can be updated on what monies the government accepted and has received and how that money is being spent.

“So, we would be very, very transparent.”

In the aftermath of Dorian, the HeadKnowles’ GoFundMe campaign had raised about $1.5 million before it was closed.

Mrs Head-Rigby said she transferred more than $1m to the charity’s Bahamian bank account.

However, being disputed is more than $400,000. A little more than $200,000 was allegedly transferred from the GoFundMe account to Mrs Head-Rigby’s American bank account while the remainder is said to have been frozen by WePay, the organisation’s payment processor.

GoFundMe yesterday announced the company will donate $217,645 to the HeadKnowles Foundation that was allegedly transferred. The company also encouraged WePay to release the remaining $246,483 directly to the HeadKnowles Foundation.

When contacted by The Tribune on Wednesday about the matter, Mrs Head-Rigby, who left the foundation last September, claimed she was fully transparent and compliant with the law during the whole Hurricane Dorian fundraising process and may file a countersuit for

defamation. “My hands are clean. I’m just so disappointed in Gina and this hunt for money that she’s always known where it is,” Mrs Head-Rigby said.

“We sent over a $1 million that was frozen by Ministry of Finance, the other money that she asked to be frozen for the GoFundMe that we pay because she said they were taking too long and they wanted to know where the money was.

“Everything was sent and the monies that I kept on this end for the operation budget. . .you know, as a Bahamian/American

over here, I am fundraising.

There’s nobody I can call here like in Nassau. . .we had quite a few volunteers for a week and that was that.”

According to the lawsuit, Ms Knowles and Mrs Head-Rigby had known each other for some 20 years before they began working together on disaster relief in 2015. On Wednesday, Mrs HeadRigby said she still loves her former colleague, despite the allegations.

“We did love each other,” she said. “I still love Gina. . .my hands are clean and it will come out in the end.”

PAGE 4, Friday, February 21, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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Speaker should learn when to speak THE current Speaker of the House, Halson Moultrie, came to his post without the benefit of experience of Parliament.

By his own confession last year, he said he lacked experience and that there were parliamentary rules unknown to him. He has also attracted criticism for his lack of experience – such as when former Deputy Prime Minister warned that he “has to remain neutral while carrying out his duties” after Mr Moultrie somehow contrived to think it appropriate to take a swipe at the foreign-born status of the PLP leader’s wife.

Mr Moultrie has also found himself embroiled in controversies after ordering a reporter to hand over a phone, after criticising the media, for suggesting China should develop the south-east Bahamas, and with his comments on marital rape. To say he has had his share of unnecessary controversies would be an understatement.

But the first-time Speaker is at it again. Mr Moultrie told the House of Assembly that he had reviewed the penal code to see if something could be done regarding obscene language in social media videos, which he said was “eroding” the country’s moral fabric.

We’re not sure what part of being an impartial Speaker escapes Mr Moultrie, but this is fairly simple – if he proposes laws or uses of the penal code, then how can he be an arbiter of fair debate if the matter is further raised in the House?

If, for example, a member of the Opposition raises concerns about

freedom of speech on the matter, can they rely on the Speaker to allow their contribution or will he push the agenda he raised instead?

There is of course a creeping feeling of Mr Moultrie wishing to curtail expression he disagrees with – while not feeling constrained by the need for appropriate language himself. This, after all, is the same speaker who said that PLP leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis was relying on the advice of “reprobates” and “perverts”.

And when he complained about “fake news”, the examples he quoted to Parliament were, surprise surprise, mostly about himself.

There can only be so much of this that is a lack of experience – a lay person knows the importance of an impartial Speaker, so a man in the role ought to.

There are only so many gaffes a man in his position can make before his role becomes untenable – his job is to enable debate on other subjects, not to be a subject of debate himself. He should listen to the criticism that has come his way – especially on this latest matter which strikes to the heart of the role he is supposed to be carrying out. Just because the criticism is coming from someone on the opposite side doesn’t mean they are wrong – and of course as a Speaker, you shouldn’t see opposite sides.

We suggest you focus on your job, Mr Speaker, and not on the swearing on Facebook and Whatsapp. And after this, we imagine social media users might have a few choice words for you themselves.

The sadness of the HeadKnowles split IT IS profoundly sad to see the split that has taken place in the HeadKnowles group, with the division between co-founders Gina Knowles and Lia Head-Rigby now having reached the point of a lawsuit.

HeadKnowles became a byword for citizen activism in recent years, a reputation built firstly on the group’s assistance after Hurricane Joaquin and subsequently through other actions, including helping to search for the body of Byron Ferguson after the pilot’s plane crashed into the sea.

The relief effort for Hurricane Dorian, which raised nearly $1.5m in donations on GoFundMe, cracked the bond between the founders and now has led to the courts amid complaints of money not being where it should be.

GoFundMe themselves, the donations website, has stepped forward to offer more than $200,000 to the HeadKnowles Foundation, now shorn of Mrs Head-Rigby since her split from the

charity in September. That’s a positive sign for the ongoing foundation.

But at heart, we are saddened to see a once thriving partnership end in such a way. It casts a shadow over the fundraising efforts that we hope can be lifted through continued good work – and it also causes concern for other citizen activist groups that might start up.

The many volunteers and donors who pitched in over the years for HeadKnowles have done remarkable work and we hope that is not forgotten in the fallout of this lawsuit. More, we hope that HeadKnowles can go on to achieve more, building on the strength of the partnerships they have forged.

We suspect a name change might well be needed – but that should be more than just reinforcing a split, rather a chance for a clean slate to continue the good work.

It’s a shame it has come to this – but it would be a bigger shame if this was the end of it all.

Flood waters had nowhere to go EDITOR, The Tribune I HEAR the comment of Minister Lewis who we must not forget is a qualified architect, but in 245 years of the history of hurricanes hitting The Bahamas only one in seven years is there a hit…35 in 245 years!

If we adopt this scenario any rebuild on Crooked Island should stop immediately – Grand Bahama especially because the frequency for hits there is high, the second highest landfall.

The great 1929 hurricane which hit Nassau seems it came up from the south hitting virtually everything in its track so Nassau should not have been rebuilt?

The Bahamas lies in a tropical/cyclone zone…hurricanes are inevitable we pray not CAT 4’s and 5+’s and infrequent please.

The water side of Marsh Harbour evolved like most town centres in the islands… little consideration to high tides or surges…few comment that a lot of the damage was caused because empty containers were left on the dock which were picked up in the surge and acted like a bulldozer blade on everything it came across… flattened everything.

I argue the Grand Bahama flooding exceptionally not the norm was directly caused because of the design of the new causeway at Fishing Hole Road… the new structure comprised of large open culverts but no one checked by the harbour…that was blocked by a limestone fill road over to the shipyard…the flood waters had nowhere to go except Freeport.

Yes rebuild to an

improved specification… probably raise the foundations….certainly do not allow wooden structures, all walls must be filled cement blocks or concrete…choose the best roof type you have which survived 200mph winds so specify that type.

Marsh Harbour expanded out of the harbour late ‘80’s prior to that all activity business and social was there right on the harbour…

You are seeing massive floods in England and the US right now…they will clean up and rebuild it’s been that way for centuries.

Town Planning Regulations should have disallowed building literally in the water, but it is too late for that.

T FORBES Nassau February 18, 2020

The dangers of surpressing news EDITOR, The Tribune IN the 1970s and 1980s I watched our Bahamas change. Drugs came here in large amounts. Young men were dealing it and making plenty, plenty money.

Young men just barely out of their teenage years were driving luxury cars and living in mansions. The fast life came to The Bahamas.

They had the prettiest girls. They threw the biggest parties. They were the big-timers in the country.

There was a dark side to these times too. Many of these people who dealt drugs and the people who hung around them started using the stuff.

Addicts were everywhere. Some used until they died. Some used and used until they were zombie streetwalkers. We lost so many people. These were not just the children of the poor and uneducated. The drug era spared no one.

Rich and poor, black and white, doctors and construction workers, were all using the stuff.

I, like many other Bahamians, lost relatives to the drug era. We tried to help but some were too far gone.

As an older man, reflecting on these times still brings great sadness. These drugs came to the Bahamas because of PLP greed.

High-ranking members of the governing PLP were all mixed up with international drug traffickers.

The PLP all but gave Norman’s Cay away to the Columbian drug runners.

Bahamians couldn’t even go there, though some high level politicians went there.

Armed men ruled the island. The country’s reputation was dragged through the mud during these years.

NBC News did an exposé.

The Miami Herald did its exceptional “A Nation for Sale” reporting.

The Commission of Inquiry that reported in 1984 revealed the vast links between the Pindling Government and drug traffickers. Pindling’s PLP nearly turned the Bahamas into a complete drug state.

Brave journalists were key to saving the Bahamas. I mentioned the reporting of the American media. Here in our country the fearlessness

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net of Eileen Carron, Athena Damianos and The Tribune were key to fighting against the evils of the Pindling Government.

Despite threats and intimidation, Mrs Carron and The Tribune did not flinch. They challenged Sir Lynden Pindling and his corrupt party and held them to account. The Tribune’s brave reporting was key to bringing to an end an evil that was destroying Bahamian families through the ruinous drug trade. I remember reading those stories, knowing The Tribune would hide nothing.

Today, again, The Tribune is leading the way on reporting on a bombshell story.

Fashion designer Peter Nygard has been accused in a New York civil lawsuit of sexually abusing underage girls and women at his home in Lyford Cay. The allegations are disgusting. What is shocking it that certain PLPs are accused of being involved in the sex trafficking ring and of giving Mr Nygard protection while the party was in power.

Mr Nygard denies the allegation through his lawyers. I think the PLP denies it too but their statements have been so convoluted that I have trouble understanding what they are saying.

The fledgling Eyewitness News is also reporting on the alleged Nygard-PLP sex scandal.

They are to be congratulated for giving exposure to these explosive allegations.

What shocks me is that The Nassau Guardian – the country’s oldest newspaper – is not reporting on the allegations against the PLP and Mr Nygard. This is international news. Here are just a few of the reputable international news organisations that have reported on this scandal: CNN, The National Post, CBC, The Guardian in the UK, The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail.

That The Nassau Guardian is ignoring this story is very, very strange. How is it that the people at CNN think this is news and the oldest newspaper in the

Bahamas doesn’t? My fear is that what has happened at The Nassau Guardian is no accident. The newspaper has become openly pro-PLP. The editors each week write commentaries attacking Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and his government. The editors who go on the radio use the airwaves to do the same thing all the time.

What appears to be going on at The Nassau Guardian is suppression of serious allegations against the PLP to protect the party the editors prefer. If true, this is a low moment in the newspaper’s long history.

Fair newspapers are supposed to report the news and let their readers decide.

They should report all the significant news to the community and, in their best editorial judgment, give appropriate prominence to the story. In my opinion, The Nassau Guardian is failing to live up to this basic objective of a fair newspaper. Its credibility is diminishing by the decision of its editors to suppress the PLP-Nygard scandal.

I wonder what the newspaper’s owners think of this. Do The Nassau Guardian’s owners think it is acceptable for CNN and The Guardian in the UK to think the PLP-Nygard sex trafficking allegations are a story and their newspaper right here in The Bahamas does not think it is a story?

If it is that The Nassau Guardian is suppressing a major global story to protect the PLP then it should put a disclaimer atop its front page and say its purpose is to get the PLP in power and not to deliver the news in a fair manner.

That way we would all know that you should only buy the newspaper if you want PLP news.

I thank Mrs Carron for her newspaper’s brave work yet again in taking on alleged wickedness in our country.

No one should be able to use their wealth or political power to abuse girls.

Thank God we still have The Tribune – a newspaper for the people that is unafraid.

ECM Nassau, February 20, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, February 21, 2020, PAGE 5

SECOND MAN CHARGED WITH $200,000 ARMED RAID ON PHOTO STUDIO

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A SECOND man was remanded to prison yesterday charged with holding up at gunpoint the proprietor of a photo studio on Carmichael Road and robbing him of over $200,000 last week.

Andino Cunningham, 44, of Pinewood Gardens was charged before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt with robbing Charles Sawyers’ Portraits-a-La Sawyers photo studio at gunpoint of $208,028 cash on February 11.

Cunningham was further charged with being in possession of a silver and black 9mm Smith and Wesson pistol as well as three unfired rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Initial reports from police said before 8.15am on the day in question, two men entered Portraits-a-La Sawyers photo

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A WOMAN yesterday described how she had to seek professional help to get over seeing blood oozing out of a man’s ears “like water” moments after his body was sprayed with bullets during the 2013 Fox Hill mass shooting.

Euphemia Davis said she had to undergo counselling to overcome the trauma of witnessing Eric “Bonafide” Morrison’s body twisting and twitching after being hit by bullets fired by gunmen in December 2013.

Ms Davis said she also needed counselling to get over seeing one of her brothers, Claudezino “Zino” Davis, killed right next to her, and another brother, Chino Davis, shot in the face from the gunfire.

So traumatic was the experience at Freedom Park, Ms Davis said, that if someone slams their hand too hard on a table, she ducks for cover out of fear. “…That is do something to me,” she lamented, as she said the events of that day play in her mind every night.

“You could imagine seeing people blood coming out of their ears? You could imagine seeing the two of your brothers getting shot in the front of you? I never see that. That’s the first time in my life I ever see that.”

Ms Davis’ testimony came during Peter Rolle’s, Jermaine Curry’s and Justin Williams’ trial concerning the December 27, 2013 shooting at Freedom Park before Justice Deborah Fraser.

Williams, Rolle and Curry are accused of murdering four people - Claudezino Davis, Shaquille Demeritte, Eric Morrison and Shenique Sands on that date.

They are also charged with attempting to murder Janet Davis, Samuel Ferguson, Chino Davis, John Davis, Jermaine Pratt and Leroy Taylor.

According to reports,

studio dressed in white jumpsuits and claiming to be window cleaners. They held up the proprietor and a worker as previously reported.

Police shot a suspect at the scene while an officer was injured during a struggle with one of the suspects, police said. The injured officer got medical assistance while the wounded suspect was taken to hospital.

Cunningham was not required to enter a plea to the charges and the case was adjourned to April 1 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI). Bail was denied and he was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in the interim. He has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

On Monday, George Bennet Delva Sr was also charged in connection with the incident. He also returns to court on April 1.

ANDINO Cunningham outside court yesterday.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

I saw blood oozing from man’s ear, says woman whose two brothers were killed

around 6pm, occupants of a small, dark vehicle opened fire in the area just behind the basketball court where several people were gathered.

Davis was pronounced dead on the scene while 10 others were taken to hospital. Demeritte, Morrison and Sands later died in hospital of their injuries.

Taking the witness stand yesterday, Ms Davis said on the date in question she and her siblings, namely Claudezino, Chino, and Erskilla Davis, went to Freedom Park to hear the announcement of that year’s Boxing Day Junkanoo results. She said they were all seated on a wall in front or opposite a Junkanoo shack in the area.

Ms Davis said she was having a conversation with one of her brothers about their mother, when they all “went back” and fell behind the wall.

Ms Davis said when her siblings went back over the wall, she glimpsed three people, seated in the windows of a car, shooting at the crowd on the park. At some point upon seeing them, Ms Davis said she heard when one of them said, “Shoots the gun jam!”

Ms Davis said the shooters weren’t firing in any particular direction, but were firing indiscriminately.

“They was not firing in any particular direction.

All they was doing was just, bam, bam,” she said. “…They just was shooting random. They wasn’t actually shooting at somebody, they just was shooting.”

Ms Davis said she heard people screaming, and when she looked up she saw Morrison’s body twitching as the bullets sprayed his body. Then, when she got up, she saw Chino Davis holding his face, as he had gotten shot. Then, she said she checked Claudezino Davis’ pulse and heartbeat, but the man had none.

Ms Davis said she told Chino Davis that their brother was dead. Afterwards, she said she saw when Morrison fell to the ground, with “blood coming out his ears like water”.

Morrison, she said, had only come to the park that day to pick up a man by the name of Don Brice who was wheelchair-bound.

Ms Davis said after the incident, she called her brother’s wife, who was in

the States, as well as her mother who was in the US as well, and told them that both Claudezino Davis and Ms Sands had died, and that Chino Davis had gotten shot.

While being cross examined by Rolle’s attorney Sonia Timothy, Ms Davis said she saw three shooters, all of whom were seated in the car’s windows and who had dark complexions.

However, she said she could not recognise any of the shooters.

In response to one of Ms Timothy’s questions, Ms Davis revealed that another man, Danny Ferguson, was on the park that night. She said Mr Ferguson, a resident of Fox Hill, is someone she grew up with whom she knows from being on the park.

Mr Ferguson, Ms Davis said, was on his phone that night. At some point, Ms Davis said Mr Ferguson came off his phone and moved from where she and the others were over to the Junkanoo shack. Shortly after he did that, about 15 to 20 minutes later, the shooting started.

As a result, she said she told police that they should check Mr Ferguson’s phone.

She said she felt that providing the police with that information would better assist them in solving the investigation.

Additionally, Ms Davis’ cross examination revealed that her cousin’s son, whom she calls her nephew because he calls her his aunt, was also on the park that night and seated on the bleachers. Ms Davis said her ‘nephew’ told her that he saw the shooter, and that the shooter was a person named “David”.

Ms Davis said she knew “David”, but does not know his last name. She said she does not know his age, but said he appears to be younger than her. During further interrogation

by Williams’ attorney Geoffrey Farquharson, Ms Davis confirmed that she told police that the person her ‘nephew’ saw was “Davis”.

Mr Farquharson, while cross-examining Ms Davis, suggested the woman was seeking to mislead the jury because she gave a “different story” in court than the one she told police around the time of the incident in question.

That incensed Ms Davis, who said she had no reason

to lie and accused Mr Farquharson of trying to intimidate her. She further told Mr Farquharson: “If you was on that park that day you would feel just how I feeling right now.”

Ms Davis then passionately asserted that she is tired of revisiting the events of the date in question, and further complained that constantly having to revisit the matter will likely send her crazy.

Mr Farquharson then showed Ms Davis one of the photographs captured by crime scene investigators of the scene in Fox Hill.

That photograph captured the Junkanoo shack of the Original Congos, according to Mr Farquharson.

On the side of that shack, Mr Farquharson said, is some graffiti that reads: “RIP Spy and Limbo. Real Gs”.

Ms Davis, in response to a question by the attorney, said she knew both “Limbo” and “Spy”. However, she said she doesn’t know if “David” is related to any or both of those two individuals.

Nonetheless, she said she knew “David” from the park.

The matter continues.

PAGE 6, Friday, February 21, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

PM defends increase in travel budget

By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday defended the government’s decision to increase its travel benefits for Cabinet ministers and their spouses.

He insisted that records would show that officials’ spouses have not been taking advantage of the benefits. “…You check the records and you would find that I don’t think one Cabinet minister’s spouse has taken advantage of that,” he told reporters yesterday.

“And you would find, in most instances, that Cabinet ministers travel by themselves and not only that but what you don’t know is on many occasions Cabinet ministers, including myself, travel with insufficient funds and use my own credit card to pay government’s bills.

“That happens regularly so we always have to travel with our own cash and our own credit card.”

Dr Minnis made the statement yesterday at a press conference at Sir Lynden International Airport following his trip to Barbados to attend a CARICOM meeting.

The new travel policy,

which was implemented by Cabinet last year, allows for ministers’ spouses to go on additional trips, including a $100 daily per diem. The policy also increases ministerial per diem from $80 to $100 per day for domestic travel and $150 to $250 for international travel.

Further defending the move yesterday, Dr Minnis recalled when he “almost” called Jamaica for assistance to pay the country’s travel bill. “...I was placed in an embarrassing situation as prime minister of the country when I travelled to Brussels only to discover that they did not accept cash. They did not accept swipe card. You needed a chip. I had to borrow a card from someone else to pay a bill.

“And we had an ambassador in the same situation and could not pay bills and I was almost pressured, (and) I was to a point, where the ambassador was in a compromised position.

I was about to call Jamaica for assistance to pay our bills and you worried about $100?”

This is not the first time a Cabinet minister has defended the government for increasing its travel expenses.

Last year, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands defended the administration’s decision to increase its travel budget by $4 million in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian.

His comments came amidst criticism from the Progressive Liberal Party that called the move a wrong decision and a badly timed one.

“And now the discussion starts...about how can we spend $10 for this and $5 for that.. I think this is the beauty of democracy that you are able to have an impassioned discussion about facts,” Dr Sands told reporters.

“The facts are there and we want to stand on our record…we have been as open and as transparent as possible and people will dissect information, which is now available.”

While in opposition, the Free National Movement frequently criticised the Christie administration’s travel expenditure.

Although Dr Minnis agreed in 2017 to release a detailed breakdown of the travel expenses of all Cabinet ministers, the administration has not followed through on his pledge.

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis

Funeral Service For Janeth Helen Bodie, 73 of #4 Kenilworth Avenue and formerly of West End, Grand Bahama will be held on Saturday, February 22nd, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. at First Baptist Church, Market Street & Coconut Grove. Officiating will be Rev. Dr. Diana Francis assisted by Rev. George Bodie, Rev. Wilkinson Francis and Other Ministers of the Gospel.

Interment will follow in Lakeview Memorial Gardens, John F. Kennedy Drive and Gladstone Road.

Precious memories will always linger in the hearts of her One Son: Corey Bodie; Three Daughters: Ozier Bodie, Ophira Bodie-Taylor and Jessica Curtis; Two Sons-inLaw: Hurvin Curtis and Vernal Taylor; Stepson: Owen Cooper; Stepdaughter: Vanessa Penn; Four Grandchildren: Tristian Smith, Valentino Cooper, Janiah Curtis, Keemai Taylor; Three Great Grandchildren: Trinard, Trinity and Tristian Smith; Three Brothers: Andrew Miller Sr. Hencil Miller and Harrison Miller; Adopted Sisters: Willamae Braynen, Jean Pinder; One Brother-in-Law: Rufus Bodie; Five Sisters-in-Law: Jenny Miller, Margurette Miller, Donnamae Bodie, Minerva Rolle of Ramsey Exuma and Rose Ellen Curry of the Forest Exuma; Numerous Nephews including: Andrew Miller Jr., Errol Miller Jr. Mervin Miller, Robert Miller, Hencil Miller Jr., and Frankie Miller, Ricardo Jones, Trevor Thompson, Larry Bodie Sr., Anthony Bodie Sr., Rev. George Bodie II, Brinton Bodie, Emmerson Bodie Sr., Clayton and Kendrick Bodie, Martin and Garvin Johnson, Michael, Kevin, Mario and Glen Rolle; Numerous Nieces including: Sonia Miller, Vanessa Mcphee, Tamara Miller, Nadine Pinder, Joan Jones, Dionne Jones, Natasha Miller, Andrea Miller-Kelly, Harrinique Miller, Blanche Hepburn, Valleria Strachan, Bernadette Hemmings, Deborah Smith and Sherry Bullard. Sharon Fox, Claudette, Stephanie, Deontlia and Latoya Bodie, Janeth Bodie-Wilkinson, Yvonne Bodie-Cayard, Ernestine Bodie-Whyte, Rikell Bodie and Shirlene Mackey, Joyanne and Cecelia Curry, Virgina Bannister, Marva Baptiste and Cleo Rolle; Numerous Grand Nieces and Nephews; Too numerous to mention; Other loving family and friends including but not limited to: Pastor Patrick and District Elder Portia Ferguson, Lucille Flowers, Rose Wells, Daisy Knowles, Brendalee Marshall, Edward and Beryl Poitier, Ruth Swaby and family, Kathrina Braynen, Jacob Miller, George Miller, Jeffrey Miller, Tony Miller, Melvin Miller Jr. and Valarie Rolle. Ms. CoraMae, Jean Pinder and family, Shelia Rolle and Gwenth Lewis and family, Ms. Emma Deal, Mavis Rolle and Family, Harrold Rolle and Family, Pauline Butler, Veronica Johnson and Family, Charlotte Ferguson, Willamae Braynen and family, Valmon Cooper and Family, Beatrice Taylor and Family, Rita Curtis and Family, Mr. Ezra Bodie and family, Esthermae McKenzie-Bodie and family, Coradell Dean and Family, Melda Thurston and Family, Colleen Collie and Inez Brown, Craig Campbell, Tyress Sawyer and Family, Bridgette and Tyler Cooper, Mr. Rudolph and Rose Ferguson & family, Rev. Veronica Rigby and Family, Mrs. Eleanor Austin and family, Selena Marc and family, Ms. Judy Simon and family, Ms. Clarice Williams and family, Sis. Miller and Family (Long Island) Beatrice Brown and family, Andrea Brown and family, Carmetta Rolle and Family, DiAnne Demeritte and family, Joan Knowles and family, Ms. Johnson and family, Mrs. McPhee and family, Dorothy Major and Family, Adrian and Shambula Hutcheson, Millis Newton, Ms. Wella; Special Thanks: Rev Diana Francis and The First Baptist Church, New Life in Christ Church, Bishop Trevor & First Lady Sharon Williamson and The Trinity Global Cathedral, Fox Hill Community Prayer Band, Officer, Members and Staff of The Bahamas Public Service Union, management and staff of Itaú Bank & Trust (Bahamas) Ltd., management and staff of Fidelity Bank’s Card Services Department, The South Beach Community, the entire West End, Grand Bahama Community, Dr. John Lunn & a host of other relatives too numerous to mention.

Viewing will be held in the Irenic Suite at Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium Ltd., Robinson and Soldier Roads on Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and at the church on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. until service time.

AGREEMENT CLOSE ON BORDER PROTECTION

By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE government is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on border protection with Turks and Caicos “very soon”, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis revealed yesterday.

The issue of border control, according to Dr Minnis, was among the many topics discussed at a CARICOM meeting held in Barbados this week. “…We brought forth to our CARICOM colleagues (and) the challenges that we face with illegals and the challenges both ourselves and Turks and Caicos face,” he told reporters upon his return to the country yesterday.

“In fact, the Turks prime minister had pointed out that things are getting so bad and restless in the Turks island that residents are now taking it upon

themselves to capture illegal residents, apprehended them themselves and retain them for the police and other officers.

“The Bahamas is in discussion with the Turks and Caicos and we are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding very soon so that we can protect each other’s borders as we face the same challenges.”

Noting that the country will no longer “tolerate” illegal immigration, Dr Minnis was also clear that anyone found harbouring or hiring undocumented migrants will also suffer the consequences.

“It is essential that we take charge and grab hold of the challenges we face with respect to illegals,” he told reporters yesterday.

“This is no longer talk.

Those Bahamians who are engaged or have hired illegals — the police, the immigration and the relevant ministries have been given the mandate that

Funeral Service POSTPONED Olga Marina Wallace, 76 affectionately called

“Marina” of Pyfrom’s Addition which was scheduled for Saturday February 22, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church, has been postponed.

Notice for the rescheduled funeral service will be published when confirmed.

they are to prosecute such individuals.”

“Because The Bahamas is for Bahamians first and foremost. It is our responsibility that Bahamians are first.”

Similar warnings have been expressed by Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson, who also recently vowed to clamp down on the matter.

Earlier this month, Mr Johnson told reporters that officials will “extract” undocumented migrants living in shelters throughout New Providence once those facilities have been deactivated.

“All I’ll say about the shelters is that they will not be used to circumvent the law,” Mr Johnson said.

“We now know who is in the shelters. We now know who is documented. We now know who are undocumented and so as those shelters are closing, we in a humane, courteous and legal way, we will extract those persons.…Those type of operations will be ongoing and not just in Nassau, but in any of the islands.”

Stating that the government is committed to putting Bahamians first, Dr Minnis said this country will not sign any agreement promoting “free movement of people.”

“We’ve made it clear that we have a problem with illegal immigration and The Bahamas will no longer tolerate and we cannot afford it. Our population is of 400,000. Haiti is a population of 12 million.

CARICOM also would’ve discussed free movement of people,” he said.

“The Bahamas’ position was firm. The Bahamas will not sign any agreement with free movement of people.

If we were to do that, you can imagine 12 million to 400,000 — you would lose your job.”

Other topics discussed at the CARICOM meeting, according to Dr Minnis, included security issues, sustainable housing development and other Dorian-related matters.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, February 21, 2020, PAGE 7

That’s not your job, Mr Speaker, says top lawyer from page one Minister Marvin Dames was not present at that point in the House sitting to hear his concerns.

“I don’t know how as the Speaker he comes to be expressing these thoughts,” Mr Munroe told The Tribune.

“His job is to be an impartial arbiter in the legislative body, so he shouldn’t be calling for any legislation about nothing regardless of what he feels. He needs to curb his expression because the post that he holds means that his comments are supposed to be about the decorum of the House and dealing with that, but as Speaker he gives up the rights that other members have and perhaps he needs to read the rules of the House instead of reading the Penal Code.”

He also said: “...The Speaker needs to look at the Police Services Act and the Constitution about who controls policing in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and it’s not the minister of national security, although their behaviour seems to come down on the side that they

are, suggesting that he is when he is not.

“Secondly the Penal Code does have provisions now for using obscene language to the annoyance of other people, but how are you going to say you’re annoyed when you choose to listen to somebody because he is talking about if someone sends you a video and you choose to listen to it.”

Mr Munroe said the hallmark of a democratic society is the freedom of choice. “Anything that seeks to control what somebody else does can affect free speech, so for instance the Constitution doesn’t give the freedom of expression. It’s not an absolute right. So in there you will find you can control civil servants’ freedom of expression, so that’s specifically the Constitution so they don’t have the right to speak to the press without clearance from their head of department,” Mr Munroe added.

“But the Constitution tells you that if you go around slandering and defaming people, the Constitution tells you that protecting the rights of others is an exception of

HALSON Moultrie should be impartial, says Wayne Munroe Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

free speech but the things about public morality and the rest of that are only permitted in so far as they

are justified in a democratic society.

“You might be able to say for instance that at

the ecumenical service for independence you could criminalise someone coming up cussing and

stripping naked on stage because that’s a public event, but nothing to do with choice can be justified by censorship in a democratic society. So if you go to one of these rap concerts where you know the fella will cuss a lot how you going to complain?”

On Wednesday, Mr Moultrie said some social media posts had become “callus and insensitive”.

He said: “…And in some cases is unlawful because I’ve seen some posts on social media and it caused me to examine the Bahamas Penal Code to see if there was some reform to the code with respect to obscenity. Persons are able to actually make video posts with their faces in focus and using the most obscene language.

“It’s unfortunate that the minister of national security isn’t here at his time,” he also said. “Something has got to be done. This is eroding the very moral fabric of our society. Something must be done to stop the obscenities in particular to stop the obscenities that are being disseminated by social media.”

Editorial View - Page 4

FINAL CHANCE FOR WOMAN TO APPEAL MURDER CONVICTION

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN who was convicted of conspiring to have her friend killed has been granted one last chance to overturn her 35-year sentence for the crime. The Court of Appeal granted Caryn Moss leave to petition the Londonbased Privy Council in a bid to have it quash her prison sentence for plotting O’Neil Marshall’s death in 2016.

It comes roughly nine months after the appellate court dismissed Moss’ first appeal of what was then her 20-year sentence, and instead almost doubled it to 35 years.

On April 30, 2016, Moss was picked up by a person she referred to as “Big Meech”, who took her to the airport to collect some keys. During the ride to the airport, Moss and Big Meech concocted a plan in which she would pick up Marshall, a trusted friend of hers, around 10.30pm, drop him and the car that would be used at the end of Yorkshire Street. It was also planned that some guys would come later and “deal with the situation,” resulting in Marshall and his dead body being removed from Yorkshire Street.

Moss said “okay” to the plan and was told to call Big Meech when she picked up Marshall. That night, Marshall was at Harvey’s Bar in Cable Beach playing poker and dominoes when he received a number of phone calls. Sometime around 10.30 that night, Moss, driving a right-hand drive silver Nissan Primera she claimed Big Meech gave to her, picked Marshall up near Harvey’s Bar. She then drove three to five minutes away to Yorkshire Street, a dead end, as planned.

Moss, who also lived on Yorkshire Street, drove to the dead end, turned the car around to face the corner’s exit, and parked the

car close against the wall of the Glenwood Condominiums. Marshall was sitting in the front passenger seat, on the same side as the wall.

Moss then told her friend she was going to get something to smoke, and subsequently ran into the condominiums to her godfather’s home.

While there, Moss heard a number of gunshots.

Meanwhile, she asked her godfather to use the phone and pretended to make a call. When she left her godfather’s residence, she realised the car was not where she had parked it.

She subsequently walked home. The following morning, Marshall’s partially burnt body, which was also riddled with multiple gunshot injuries, was found in the parking lot of the abandoned City Market on Market Street, inside the same Nissan Primera Moss picked him up in.

Moss was later arrested, cautioned, interviewed and charged for her involvement in Marshall’s murder.

While in custody, she gave a statement to police outlining the details as to what she said happened on the night in question, as well as her previous interaction with her co-conspirators.

Moss was tried before Justice Carolita Bethel and a jury and was unanimously convicted of the offence.

On November 27, 2018, Justice Bethel sentenced her to 20 years’ imprisonment minus the time spent on remand, one year.

Moss appealed both her conviction and sentence, arguing that there was no evidence of conspiracy; that her defence of duress was never heard by the jury; and that the verdict against her was unreasonable and the sentence harsh and excessive. Meanwhile, the Crown appealed Moss’ sentence on the grounds that her sentence was based on the wrong principles of law and thus unduly lenient.

The appellate court ultimately found no merit in

MECHANICAL PROBLEMS FORCE LOADSHEDDING MECHANICAL problems at its Clifton Power Station forced Bahamas Power and Light to load shed yesterday morning.

A notice posted to BPL’s Facebook page said the load shedding began at 9.10am, affecting portions

of New Providence. BPL later said an engine at the Clifton Station “suffered an unexpected component failure” which forced workers to take it offline.

BPL said power was restored to affected communities at 9.40am.

any of Moss’ grounds of appeal, and also sided with the Crown’s assertion that her sentence was unduly lenient.

The appellate court said there was nothing in the trial judge’s findings that could justify such a

“drastic departure” from the accepted scale established for a sentence concerning a conspiracy to commit murder conviction.

“Society’s displeasure of acts of this nature is reflected in the lengthy maximum sentence

imposed by Parliament,” the appellate judges said.

“It therefore follows that the court ought to recognise the offence of conspiracy to commit murder as a serious offence, especially where the murder, which was the subject of the conspiracy,

has taken place and the penalty should reflect the seriousness of the offence.”

Moss sobbed audibly as appellate Justice Stella Crane-Scott said her appeal was dismissed, and that she would instead be serving 35 years in prison.

PAGE 8, Friday, February 21, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

The culture of power is changing before our very eyes THROUGH the six decades that I have been writing thousands of published news articles, magazine pieces, more lately columns, I have steered clear of politics and have rarely tapped the overflowing well of famous people whose legacy descends into a downhill slide from grace.

There are several reasons but the most honest is because lots of people do it and they do politics far better than I could. Thank heavens for the pundits who opine and the analysts who assess. They have the patience to spend their time listening to the words of a spout-mouth, sift through them and interpret what they really mean for the future of the planet. Me, I’m simple. Matters of heart and hearth, of sky and sea, of friendship and history and romance, of children growing up, of battling demons and winning or not, of capturing a moment that can never be repeated and holding it in your eyes and gut until you just can’t keep it any more – those slices of life excite me much more.

This aversion to power and ugliness is nothing new.

In another life when I had to cover whoever came to the South Florida city where I worked at the prominent daily, I’d be happier spending a day shadowing Erma Bombeck than an hour with a presidential hopeful – and I did both.

Also, to be honest, I lack courage. I’ll stand up for the environment and for better education, for children’s rights, for sea turtles, But don’t label me politically or make me a follower of anyone. Just so long as no one calls me a Trumpster though some of my best friends, people I admire greatly and whose company I truly enjoy, are. I just don’t get it. One thing I

will say for him, though. He won the Democratic debate on Wednesday night without even showing up. The U.S. is in trouble.

What does interest me about politics is the stuff of which it is made, its culture, that bubble blown up by power that just gets bigger and bigger, feeding on its own air. When power becomes ingrained and nothing pushes back against it, it fills the bearer with a false sense of bigger, tougher, stronger, more invincible. Inflated bank accounts give rise to inflated egos. The insidious nature of unchecked power will eventually take the too powerful down and their downfall will be gobbled up in a salacious

JEFFREY Epstein was arrested on multiple charges of sex trafficking

gossip-hungry world whose fires are fed by tweets, WhatsApp and Instagram. Madness witnessed by a few is madness contained, often known as a family secret, but madness unleashed on social media could be as instantaneous as a post and its impact last for a lifetime.

Never before have we seen this kind of avalanche of individuals of extreme wealth topple like a design in the sand washed away by a stiff offshore breeze.

Oh, how the mighty are falling. Jeffrey Epstein who got away with a plea deal in Florida in 2008 was finally nabbed in New York. Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019 on multiple charges of sex trafficking, including of underage girls.

On August 10, just over a month later, he was found hanged in his cell, his death initially ruled a suicide but still under investigation. Two guards admitted falsifying records and two cameras in front of his cell coincidentally malfunctioned.

Although the alleged

victims never got their day in court, at least Epstein spared us the horror of watching him trod back and forth to court as we see with disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein schlep his decrepit body daily bent over a walker, his once powerful frame that may have traded the innocence of aspiring actresses for harrowing sexual favours and alleged abuse now just that of an old man unable to stand upright.

We see it in the slow meltdown in the first debate performance of former New York Mayor now presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg seeming shocked that he is expected to answer a question about non-disclosure agreements or racially profiled stop and frisk as an acceptable tool for crime control. Bloomberg deserves mountains of credit.

He turned New York around from a crime-ridden city whose residents lived in dirt and fear to one of the cleanest, safest places in America. Yet when faced with a serious question, he was so unaccustomed to

being questioned that he reacted in shock and denial, like someone who was just diagnosed with a terminal disease. He fumbled because he never had to learn when he was the only boss he had how to answer to others. Power is a fickle friend and an even fiercer foe.

We saw the abuse of power in the downfall and bankruptcy of the national chapter of Boy Scouts of America because it buried knowledge of sexual predator behaviour for decades, believing it could hide its dirty little secrets because it was so powerful.

The culture of power is changing before our eyes.

The MeToo movement helped open our eyes, but we are also growing up because the same devices and social media that made us aware of the filthy and dangerous side of power reminds us in a powerful way that we can take a stance against it. That device that brought us horror videos also silently begs us to stand up against the evil. That is the power each of us has.

‘PROFITS UP, LIVING COSTS UP’ READERS have been reacting to the stories making the news on tribune242.com. Tribune Business reported that the Nassau Container Port’s operator, Arawak Port Development Company, could see its 2020 profits beat the prior year by as much as 10-20 percent, prompting this from Well_ mudda_take_sic: “APD profits going up is synonymous with cost of living for Bahamians going up.”

Chucky asked: “How is this good news? It’s a zero sum game, that the rich continually win, which means the average/ poor continue to lose.

Objectively, this should be reported as bad news

for the nation, as 99.99% percent will lose whatever extra this small group gains.”

Meanwhile, the Bahamas Telecommunications Company suffered a further 4 percent mobile subscriber erosion in the 2019 fourth quarter. Geostorm had this to say: “Come on BTC, you have to ‘up’ your game! Start offering incentives that will entice your customers. Improve your customer service.”

Death Notice For Geirther McKinney, 43 a resident of Gilbert Street Kennedy Subdivision, died at The Princess Margaret Hospital on Tuesday, February 11th, 2020.

Cherished memories are held by her Husband: George McKinney; daughter: Georgia McKinney; Father: Johnny (Minnie) Butler; Numerous Sisters brothers, aunts, uncles, grand aunts, grand-uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to THE NEW COMMONWEALTH FUNERAL HOME and will be announced at a later date.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, February 21, 2020, PAGE 9

Coral reefs around Grand Bahama and Abaco quick to recover

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net MARINE scientists say most of the coral reefs around Grand Bahama and Abaco could rapidly recover to support fisheries and tourism sectors for those islands, with new research showing only 30 percent of reefs surveyed suffered severe damage.

Researchers of the Perry Institute for Marine Science, which conducts research throughout the Bahamas and other parts of the Caribbean, analysed the

coral reefs and submitted a report to the government this month.

Their analysis of a Hurricane Damage Index (HDI) and Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) indicated “that the damage inflicted

by Hurricane Dorian to Abaco and Grand Bahama’s coral reefs varied considerably in terms of the type of damage experienced by individual reefs and the severity of that damage. There was not a strong relationship between damage on land and in the sea, or between hurricane intensity and

proximity and the damage observed on reefs.

“While some reefs were devastated, with a significant damage to corals, debris, burial in silt, bleaching and loss of fish biomass, other reefs saw little damage and may have experienced shortterm benefits from Dorian through the removal of seaweeds that compete with corals.

“Because only about 25 percent to 30 percent of reefs surveyed suffered severe damage, the majority of reefs may make a rapid recovery to pre-storm conditions and

continue to support fisheries, tourism, and other components of Abaco and Grand Bahama’s blue economy. Reefs that received little damage may also help to replenish many of the severely damaged reefs. Additional management interventions

are likely necessary, however, to promote recovery of damaged reefs, such as coral restoration, and protective management.”

To promote recovery of the marine systems, researchers recommended creating additional marine protected areas to

build resilience in marine ecosystems; removing debris from reefs and other marine areas; removing invasive Casuarina trees from coastal areas and restoring corals to key reef areas to jump-start the recovery process.

PAGE 10, Friday, February 21, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

THE NATIONAL Memorial For Peace And Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, commemorates the victims of lynching

White preachers incited racial violence, joined the Ku Klux Klan and lynched black people

By Malcolm Brian Foley PhD Candidate in Religion - Historical Studies, Baylor University WHITE lynch mobs in America murdered at least 4,467 people between 1883 and 1941, hanging, burning, dismembering, garroting and blowtorching their victims.

Their violence was widespread but not indiscriminate: About 3,300 of the lynched were black, according to the most recent count by sociologists Charles Seguin and David Rigby. The remaining dead were white, Mexican, of Mexican descent, Native American, Chinese or Japanese.

Such numbers, based

on verifiable newspaper reports, represent a minimum. The full human toll of racial lynching may remain ever beyond reach.

Religion was no barrier for these white murderers, as I’ve discovered in my research on Christianity and lynch mobs in the Reconstruction-era South.

White preachers incited racial violence, joined the Ku Klux Klan and lynched black people.

Sometimes, the victim was a pastor.

When considering American racial terror, the first question to answer is not how a lynch mob could kill a man of the cloth but why white lynch mobs killed at all.

The typical answer from Southern apologists was

that only black men who raped white women were targeted. In this view, lynching was “popular justice” – the response of an aggrieved community to a heinous crime.

Journalists like Ida B. Wells and early sociologists like Monroe Work saw through that smokescreen, finding that only about 20% to 25% of lynching victims were alleged rapists. About 3% were women. Some were children.

Black people were lynched for murder or assault, or on suspicion that they committed those crimes. They could also be lynched for looking at a white woman or for bumping the shoulder of a white woman. Some were killed for being near

or related to someone accused of the aforementioned offences.

Identifying the dead is supremely difficult work.

As sociologists Amy Kate Bailey and Stewart Tolnay argue persuasively in their 2015 book “Lynched,” very little is known about lynching victims beyond their gender and race.

But by cross-referencing news reports with census data, scholars and civil rights organizations are uncovering more details.

One might expect that mobs seeking to destabilize the black community would focus on the successful and the influential – people like preachers or prominent business owners.

Instead, lynching disproportionately targeted

A WHITE lynch mob in Shelbyville, Tennessee, in 1941 lower-status black people – individuals society would not protect, like the agricultural worker Sam Hose of Georgia and men like Henry Smith, a Texas handyman accused of raping and killing a threeyear-old girl.

The rope and the pyre snuffed out primarily the socially marginal: the unemployed, the unmarried, the precarious – often not the prominent – who expressed any discontentment with racial caste.

That’s because lynching was a form of social control. By killing workers with few connections who could be economically replaced – and doing so in brutal, public ways that struck terror into black communities – lynching kept white supremacy on track.

So black ministers weren’t often lynching victims, but they could be targeted if they got in the way.

I.T. Burgess, a preacher in Putnam County, Florida, was hanged in 1894 after being accused of planning to instigate a revolt, according to a May 30, 1894, story in the Atlanta Constitution newspaper.

Later that year, in December, the Constitution also reported, Lucius Turner, a preacher near West Point, Georgia, was shot by two brothers for apparently writing an insulting note to their sister.

Ida B. Wells wrote in her 1895 editorial “A Red Record” about Reverend King, a minister in Paris, Texas, who was beaten with a Winchester Rifle and placed on a train out of town. His offense, he said, was being the only person in Lamar County to speak against the horrific 1893 lynching of the handyman Henry Smith.

In each of these cases, the victim’s profession was ancillary to their lynching. But preaching was not incidental to black pastors’ resistance to lynching.

My dissertation research shows black pastors across the U.S. spoke out against racial violence during its worst period, despite the clear danger that it put them in.

Many, like the Washington, D.C., Presbyterian pastor Francis Grimke, preached to their

congregations about racial violence. Grimke argued for comprehensive antiracist education as a way to undermine the narratives that led to lynching.

Other pastors wrote furiously about anti-black violence.

Charles Price Jones, the founder of the Church of God (Holiness) in Mississippi, for example, wrote poetry affirming the African heritage of black Americans. Sutton Griggs, a black Baptist pastor from Texas, wrote novels that were, in reality, thinly veiled political treatises. Pastors wrote articles against lynching in their own denominational newspapers.

Some white pastors decried racial terror, too.

But others used the pulpit to instigate violence.

On June 21, 1903, the white pastor of Olivet Presbyterian church in Delaware used his religious leadership to incite a lynching.

Preaching to a crowd of 3,000 gathered in downtown Wilmington, Reverend Robert A. Elwood urged the jury in the trial of George White – a black farm laborer accused of raping and killing a 17-yearold white girl, Helen Bishop – to pronounce White guilty speedily.

Otherwise, Elwood continued, according to a June 23, 1903 New York Times article, White should be lynched. He cited the Biblical text 1 Corinthians 5:13, which orders Christians to “expel the wicked person from among you.”

“The responsibility for lynching would be yours for delaying the execution of the law,” Elwood thundered, exhorting the jury.

George White was dragged out of jail the next day, bound and burned alive in front of 2,000 people.

The following Sunday, a black pastor named Montrose W. Thornton discussed the week’s barbarities with his own congregation in Wilmington. He urged self-defense.

“There is but one part left for the persecuted negro when charged with crime and when innocent.

Be a law unto yourself,” he told his parishioners. “Die in your tracks, perhaps drinking the blood of your pursuer.”

Newspapers around the country denounced both sermons. An editorial in the Washington Star said both pastors had “contributed to the worst passions of the mob.”

By inciting lynching and advocating for self defense, the editors judged, Elwood and Thornton had “brought the pulpit into disrepute.” theconversation.com

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, February 21, 2020, PAGE 11

WOUNDED BUT DEFIANT, BLOOMBERG PROMISES TO KEEP FIGHTING

SALT LAKE CITY Associated Press

HIS aura suddenly shattered, a defiant Michael Bloomberg yesterday sent a pointed message to a political world grappling with his underwhelming presidential debate debut: He’s not going away.

The New York ultra-billionaire lashed out at leading Democratic rival Bernie Sanders and President Donald Trump, addressing voters face to face in the Super Tuesday state of Utah. That was just hours after struggling to answer dangerous yet predictable questions about his record

on race, gender and wealth during a nationally televised beatdown that rattled would-be supporters and thrilled critics in both parties.

Bloomberg didn’t go easy in his own review of the Las Vegas debate: “How was your night last night? Look, the real winner in the debate last night was Donald Trump,” Bloomberg told a crowd of several hundred in Utah’s largest city.

But then he added: “He thinks I’m going to go away. Wrong, Donald.”

Though never onstage with his rivals before Wednesday night, the former New York mayor has built support in national

polls though huge expenditures on polished television ads. He released a campaign finance report yesterday that reminded rivals in both parties of his indisputable advantage in the 2020 contest: Money.

Specifically, the man worth an estimated $60 billion reported spending $409 million through the first nine weeks of his presidential campaign, including $220 million last month alone.

Still, there were signs that his debate performance shook the confidence of would-be supporters who, just 24 hours earlier, believed Bloomberg might be the ideal candidate

CANDIDATE Mike Bloomberg

for the Democratic Party’s anxious establishment to rally behind. Instead, a new reality began to settle in, at least among some prominent donors and political operatives, who acknowledged a stark divide between the strength of Bloomberg-the-brand and Bloomberg-the-candidate.

“I’ve never seen a billionaire get disemboweled before, but good God, that was bad,” said Boyd Brown, a South Carolinabased Democratic strategist who was considering backing Bloomberg earlier in the week. “I don’t see how he bounces back from that.”

STABBING AT LONDON MOSQUE

$6.7M FOR GRAFFITI ARTISTS

LONDON Associated Press

NEW YORK Associated Press A FEDERAL appeals court in New York yesterday gave its approval to a $6.7m award for nearly two dozen graffiti artists whose spray paintings at a oncefamous site that attracted thousands of spectators were destroyed to make room for high-rise luxury residences. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that a judge was correct to award the damages against developers who destroyed the aerosol artwork in 2013.

The appeals court said the action violated the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, which protects art which has gained recognition.

PICTURED in 2011, the graffiti art gallery in the Long Island City neighbourhood of the Queens borough of New York.

Trump ally Stone sent to jail for three years WASHINGTON Associated Press ROGER Stone, a longtime confidant of President Donald Trump, was yesterday sentenced to more than three years in prison for obstructing a congressional investigation in a case that has sparked fears about presidential interference in the justice system.

Soon after Judge Amy Berman Jackson pronounced sentence, Trump publicly decried Stone’s conviction as unfair and prominent Republican legislators were giving tacit support for a pardon. But Trump said he wasn’t ready to act just yet.

“I want the process to play out.

I think that’s the best thing to do because I would love to see Roger exonerated,” he said. “I’m going to watch the process. I’m going to watch very closely. … At some point I’ll make a determination.”

The case was marked by the

JAILED: Roger Stone Justice Department’s extraordinary about-face on a sentencing recommendation and a very public dispute between Trump and Attorney General William Barr, who said the president was undermining the department’s historical independence and making “it impossible for me to do my job.”

The president responded by asserting that he was the “chief law

enforcement officer of the federal government.”

Stone was convicted in November on all seven counts of an indictment that accused him of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to tip the 2016 election.

He was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to be convicted on charges brought as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election.

At sentencing yesterday, Jackson grilled federal prosecutor John Crabb on the department’s decision to replace a tough sentencing recommendation for Stone with a more lenient one, which had prompted the original prosecution team to quit the case. Trump had called the original recommendation of seven to nine years a “miscarriage of justice.”

Jackson pointedly told Crabb that he might know less about the case than anyone in the room.

Jackson said the evidence clearly showed that Stone testified falsely to Congress and repeatedly pressured a potential witness to either back up his lie or refuse to testify.

Near the end, Jackson’s voice rose in anger as she said that Stone’s entire defence strategy seemed to amount to “So What?” Stone did not testify and called no witnesses on his behalf.

“This is NOT campaign hijinks.

This was not Roger being Roger.

You lied to Congress,” she told Stone. “The dismay and disgust … at the defendant’s actions in our polarized climate should transcend (political) parties.”

She sentenced Stone to 40 months in prison, plus two years’ probation and a $20,000 fine as Stone remained largely expressionless throughout the proceedings.

A MAN was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after an official at one of London’s biggest mosques was stabbed during afternoon prayers yesterday.

The city’s Metropolitan Police force said detectives investigating the stabbing do not think it was terror-related. Police did not speculate on a possible motive.

Witnesses said the muezzin — the person who calls Muslims to prayer — was attacked as prayers began at the London Central Mosque.

The police force said officers called to the mosque found a man in his 70s with stab wounds. Paramedics treated the man and took him a hospital, where his injuries were judged as not life-threatening.

Police said another man was arrested at the mosque, located near Regent’s Park, on suspicion of attempted murder. They said the suspect is a 29-year-old who is believed to have been attending prayers at the mosque.

KILLER OF BRIT BACKPACKER JAILED FOR LIFE NEW ZEALAND Associated Press

THE New Zealand man convicted of murdering a British backpacker he met on a dating app has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years.

Grace Millane was strangled to death on her 22nd birthday in December 2018. She had met the man through the dating app Tinder and went out for drinks with him before returning to his hotel apartment in Auckland where he killed her.

The name of the 28-yearold man is being kept secret for now by court order.

NEW THREATS EMERGE IN OUTBREAK GUNMAN WHO KILLED NINE PEOPLE WHILE CHINA VOICES OPTIMISM HAD HISTORY OF FAR-RIGHT VITRIOL

BEIJING Associated Press

BERLIN Associated Press

CHINESE health officials yesterday expressed new optimism over the deadly virus outbreak while authorities in South Korea’s fourth-largest city urged residents to hunker down as fears nagged communities far from the illness’ epicenter.

The confidence voiced by China’s government came as it reported a reduced number of new infections.

But doubts remained about the true trajectory of the epidemic as China again changed its method of counting and new threats emerged outside the country. “The downward trend will not be reversed,” insisted Ding Xiangyang, deputy chief secretary of the State Council and a member of the central government’s supervision group.

Whatever promises were aired where the illness poses its biggest threat, countries around the world continued to grapple with

A GERMAN who shot and killed nine people of foreign background in a rampage that began at a hookah bar frequented by immigrants had posted an online rant calling for the “complete extermination” of many “races or cultures in our midst,” authorities said yesterday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the attack exposed the “poison” of racism in the country.

The gunman, Tobias Rathjen, 43, was found dead at his home along with his mother, and authorities said they were treating the rampage as an act of domestic terrorism.

Turks, ethnic Kurds and people with backgrounds from Bulgaria, Bosnia and Romania were among those killed, according to news reports. Turkey’s ambassador said five of the dead were Turkish citizens.

People of Turkish background make up Germany’s single largest minority.

A WOMAN wearing maskin Hong Kong yesterday the rippling effects. The 35 new cases of the coronalatest front in the widen- virus on Thursday.

The flare-up came more ing global fight against COVID-19 emerged in than 1,400 kilometers from epicenter Daegu, South Korea, where COVID-19’s the city’s 2.5 million resi- across the Yellow Sea in dents were urged to stay China’s Hubei province inside, wearing masks even and its capital of Wuhan, indoors to stem further a sign of the risks the virus potentially poses to cominfection.

Mayor Kwon Young-jin munities across the region made a nationally televised and beyond.

“Everything that is not appeal for those preventative measures, warning known about this is causing that a rash of new cases concern,” said Dr. David could overwhelm the health Heymann, a professor of system. He pleaded for help infectious disease epidemifrom the country’s central ology at the London School government. Daegu and of Hygiene and Tropical surrounding towns reported Medicine.

KILLER: Tobias Rathjen Rathjen opened fire at the hookah bar and a neighbouring cafe in the Frankfurt suburb of Hanau around 10pm on Wednesday, killing several people, then traveled about 2.5 kilometers and fired on a car and a sports bar, claiming more victims. In addition to the dead, six people were injured, one seriously, authorities said.

Hookah lounges are places where people gather to smoke flavored tobacco from Middle Eastern water pipes. Metin Kan, who knew many of the victims, said it was obvious why the gunman chose the neighborhood.

“Look, a hookah bar

there, a gaming parlor there, a doner kebab place there — it’s a place frequented by immigrants,” he said. “Why this hatred of foreigners? We all get along here.”

Kadir Kose, who runs a cafe nearby, said he was shocked at the extent of the violence: “This is a whole other level, something we hear about from America.”

The bloodshed came amid growing concerns about far-right violence in Germany and steppedup efforts to crack down on it, including last week’s detention of a dozen men on suspicion they were planning attacks against politicians and minorities.

“This poison exists in our society and its is responsible for far too many crimes,” Merkel said, citing the killings of 10 people across the country between 2000 and 2007 by a far-right gang, the fatal shooting last year of a regional politician from her party, and a deadly attack outside a synagogue in Halle on Yom Kippur in October.

PAGE 12, Friday, February 21, 2020

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By RASHAD Reporter ACTING Fergu- Commissioner and address from Dr Minnis Tribune Staff Anti-Gang of Police Anthony emedia.net yesterday said the Inveslast night, Maria is rrolle@tribun Tracing and announced dev- son establishment of two Firearms Unit will operate fore- said: “Hurricane the potentially Bahamas tigation WITH we the DetecMaria another hurricane that separate Royal anti-crime out of the Central the cast for Hurricane Force storm to pass astating monitor.�

(CDU) while projecting the Baha- must carefully Though most Police aimed at eliminating tive Unit SEE PAGE 11 units counHe added: near the Southeast was spared gang activity in the morning, Prime of Bahamas Friday the mas the number Hubert Minnis of try, reducing Minister Dr of those SEE PAGE TWO and is urging residents be vigilant islands to

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Dr Hubert MinPRIME Minister Kendera Woodside, nis meeting murdered Eugene the mother of

this Yes I feel for y our countries.than I can say.� more ensure has a responsibilit one mother said he will Each citizen information Dr Minnis provided to and whatever that forward. medical attention is is pregnant. the composure. said he felt the fam- has we must bring among us.� who after feel live Dr Minnis Mrs Woodside, the grieving and days makes me Three These criminals who emphasised country’s he “You can see of those pushed the ily’s pain. “What through,�

Mrs Minnis, that her appearis that most during murder that violent crime into ROLLE she’s going someI, even worse

By RASHAD Reporter not a pain “I assured her that the family the yard, struggle with spotlight yet again, them was doctor, to will have we see in Tribune Staff ance before called on women said. today (Friday) we to look the national as a medical emedia.net acute. rrolle@tribun come my my years political move,one day this week time her pain remained live a life, medical personnel she’s pregand comforting cried. “He ain’t even to wear blackfor murder victims.

Dr because THE hugs sure that after her Prime Minister wife God,� Mrs Woodsidegive my in mourning calling upon nant. I have to make I’m his words of could I and infant are a baby. my really “As a mother, Hubert Minnis couldn’t answer “He’s right now just for because I this,� her and her unborn will also make take all mothers can stop Patricia Minnis that consumed breath be right here. They well and we sure the to believe mothers who was tearful both ts to make the questions yesterday as babyheart out my body. who arrangemen medical personnel They said Mrs Minnis, eight- my Kendera Woodside have our sons on a only son. for her son, killed times. “We birth and as they necessary her and see her “This my my daughter too after she grieved of them at from the safety who was still with look almost shoot (the house) with would’ve delivered most knowing we cradle basis to ensure infant.� year-old Eugene, men we are to me with regular they inside four days ago. people ain’t tell- and What they do to my family? so they are closer patients,� Dr becomeWe have to speakshould of her and her unborn PAGE TWO SEE them. my former women proare all “Why these bringing my son me. they do to us? by they st I think week me? I we them. ain’ carry one day this ing me they she cried between What Minnis, a gynaecologi “The message “Why they wear black what’s happening in a baby.� tried to right now?� fession, said. the entire Bahamas 29 years, He’s Dr Minnis and mourn Eugene’s Rose- live screams as must send to this alone.

Tonio Woodside, family at theirEugene wife even is the police can’t fight console the consoled his home where on father, struggled to maintain bud Road a stray bullet as he was shot by did his homework. he Monday as

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PLP CASUAL HIRES COST EXTRA $10M

OMY AG WARNS ECON ER’ IN ‘GRAVE DANG

he told Parto In June, cost the ROLLE such liament of

By RASHAD Bahamians $10,149,738. by the Carib- Tribune Staff Reporter so alarmed Action Task rrolle@tribunemedia.net increases was comes after bean Financial draft The revision more than

By NEIL HARTNELL Editor Rolle, minForce’s (CFATF) BRENSIL et Tribune Business services he included that were not The Bahamas ibunemedia.n report on his staff ister of public nhartnell@tr 1,700 workers Gen- that he instructedaddressing and National Insurance, in his original count.

December Progressive THE Attorneyslammed to begin work on June.

Amid the said between 2017, the criticism May flaws from early eral yesterday

by Liberal Party’sadministrablasted the 2016 and in the nation’s the ballooned Mr Bethel deficiencies adminis- public purse laundering of the of the Minnisof its firings anti-money former Christie to tackle $16,532,738 because on’s tion because “entirely unacfailing administrati regime as SEE PAGE SIX they had tration for with the Christie public service ceptable�, warning “in great known weaknesses hiring of new that period. during put The Bahamas necessary urgency. workers BUSINESS danger�. told Trib- FULL STORY - SEE Carl Bethelhe had been une Business

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By RASHAD Reporter register, ridding Tribune Staff ised errors. emedia.net much-public enough staff to rrolle@tribun “We have “We 170,000 peo- do this,� Mr Hall said.certiJUST over sure it’s to vote have to make after tople have registered 10 general elec- fied some 14 daysdate.� for the May ry Com(Tuesday’s) tion, Parliamenta Hall said day’s accordance with the In Elections missioner Sherlyn ry pubParliamenta yesterday. what he de- Act, Mr Hall will give of This follows election in a “mad rush� notice of the week, statscribed as to vote lic this of newspapers people registering place in conthe last day ing the date, times when on Monday, and registration. 172,000 peo- stituencies papers must be There were to vote in the nomination delivered. ple registeredelection.

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Ranard Henfield of back planned The change of Majority been perceived even ganiser several weeksOffice on anniversary development is yet day calendar has by the govas planned� that “after organian attempt This latest the ’s permis- and forth� the Cabinet group’s the same route by many as back for the a blow to government rejected the Rawson another set planned to protest on ernment to strike event by We without the Wednesday in sation that of a second 9 - the original sion. with The Trib- application to protest Squares because Monday, January announced for success Bahamas.

In an interview II said “there March date another and Parliaments SEE PAGE SIX Mr Bostwick � and the the “event conflicts with for that observance Day. the une, it compromise Majority Rule by this this month being denied will be no already booked be deterred that DESPITE However, earlier and Parliament group will “not fascist coercion event� in Parliament Party date.

Majority use of Rawson Liberal rights and attempt toward a protest on an- was announced Progressive Squares for January, We March and the abuse of our Bradley Roberts in Day Bostfreedoms�.

Chairman al Rule John constitution Facebook, lead ororganiser Bahamas yesterday the demonIn a post on wick II said go on as planned, on stration “will

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By SANCHESK bringing the Eleuthera, cases Tribune Staff Reporteret CHIEF Superintend officerbunemedia.n tal to 25 confirmed Clayton Fernander, sdorsett@tri of the Central nationwide. in-charge Unit, warned a lull, quiet MP “This is like said.

Detective FORT Charlotte last to be “exDr McMillan samofficials yesRollins said no get HEALTH residents to period,� drivers yesterday Dr Andre after armed will be continue to tra cautious� couple to stop terday urged against en- “We they send them in for night that “there a action� taken as no furmen forced in the middle remain vigilantfactors that ples Nabut we have good. disciplinary seven Free their vehicle vironmental who against the shooting despite testing which is and tional Movement MPs Dr ther cases, the road before of Richbreed mosquitoes Key, monitoring transmisdriver.

Leader local We’re still .

Chipman, Edison Neilly, and and killing the Fernander the “lull� in ousted party as leader of Theo from left, Hubert Zika virus. doing our surveillance Chief Supt have been Hubert Minnis be- THE REBEL SEVEN of, Butler-Turner, Neko Grant, sion of the e Staff believe armed Public Health Hanna/Tribun “I think we as it relates the Official Opposition, Director of said police motive basis ard Lightbourn, Loretta yesterPhoto: Shawn well Commit- robbery may be the out cause there is no legal progressing the Dr Pearl McMillan Executive Rollins. said He that there to getting the message Andre case the killing. have “hapheeding for such a move. a formal support FNM’s not have a day confirmed widespread tee would group’s actions for and persons no new conthat could came He added been lodged solidify a new leader.� have been since the de- there Zika thing the incidentto anyone�. because the around on it. This July, which is when objection has pened firmed cases came in an “were consistent with took place press release His remarks case against “the bogus charges� down in The murder to quesally protected partment’s on Tuesand the get our first constitution 5, which raised rians to after 9pm Millenagainst him e-mail in response December of cases in New we usually SEE PAGE SIX levelled members of Parliaright of parliamenta lead- shorty area of from The Tribune. the tions Rollins echoed the recall a parliamentary have day in the the number six other off Tonique from 22 to 23.on took part in Dr Providence they no longerability nium Gardens, ment who Highway, of Long Island Dr Mincase each er er when sentiments in his/her There is one Williams Darling action of removing Butler-Turn the country’s post. Dr Rollins MP Loretta Hubert confidence and brought to 109 for the nis from the number of and St Anne’s MP week to lead.� count said a growing who last to The TribSEE PAGE THREE murder admitting “that were Chipman, year, according FNMs are of action for said the if the matter the une’s records. court, the the best course to Fernander under taken Supt take be Chief the party to es is to to victim, identisaid the present circumstanc as Kendrick fied by police driving with was of the foreign Simms, when another car mians, most won’t re- his wife, committee of them forcemployees tee next month, Smith said formerall that is due to them. pulled aheadstop. to ceive ROLLE Chairman James said they will, ing them man was drivBy RASHAD Reporter Mr Smith a “high “The yesterday. money was givMillennium Tribune Staff however, receive emedia.net Since the ing through basis by rrolle@tribun SEE PAGE FIVE ort figure�. en on an ex-gratia SEE PAGE FIVE former em- the China Export-Imp FOREIGN will and was inBaha Mar Bank (EXIM) for Bahaployees of the government tended primarily be paid by Commitappointed Claims

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are dead, SIX people ju15-year-old including a another man is venile, and his life in hosfighting for four separate pital after in less shooting incidents in the capital. than 48 hours took the The homicides count to country’s murder 43 days of the 26 for the first to The new year, according Tribune’s records. an isPolice launchedlast night of land-wide search suspected for two men dead in Yelthe shooting a man Gardens in low Elder latest incident.bloody weekDespite the Commisend, Assistant Police Stephen sioner of “hundreds� of Dean said were patrolpolice officers over the past ling the streetseffort to keep an few days in well as visitors the public as safe. officer-inMeanwhile Central Decharge of theChief Superintective Unit, Fernander tendent Clayton after a implored parentsto “keep a killing on Friday on their chilwatchful eye� their young dren, especially boys.

Fernander Chief Supt have launched said police for the a massive manhunt the weekend suspects in killings.

SEE PAGE THREE

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Bahamas Bar FORMER President ElsAssociation yesterday worth Johnsoncalls for Bajoined activistorganise prohamians to resistance tests and public tabled Interto the recently tions he ception of Communica 2017, which Bill (ICB) spying called “dangerous� legislation. who was Mr Johnson, week as the ratified last Movement’s Free National Yamacraw, for pubcandidate the level of bill, questioned on the imlic consultation g that it underscorin entrenched pacted deeply SEE PAGE SIX

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MoveFREE National Leader Peter ment Deputyyesterday acTurnquest government of rcused the gerrymande “shameless recently tabled he ing� over changes that boundary the “deliberclaims affect of middle ate elimination from the forclass areas� constituency. mer Montagu with The d In an interview characterise he Tribune boundary and the proposed a “desperate changes as emoattempt to the perverted� manipulate tionally electorate.

SEE PAGE 11

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By AVA TURNQUES Reporter .net Tribune Chief tribunemedia aturnquest@ ic� “catastroph THE outages that island-wide Providence plagued Newstemmed from late last year equipment Pier widespread the Clifton to failures at according Power Station, and Light. vehicle.

Bahamas Power reported escape in a were taken The companyof its investo reports, The victims are on According where they on the findings two islandA DORSETT shortly after midnight re- to hospital stable into but tigation

By SANCHESKReporter officers in serious and another Sunday, the domestic inci- listed wide outages, et Tribune Staff occurred a condition. bunemedia.n that shortly major outage that 29 and sponded to sdorsett@tri in Valentine Police said November dent at a home an officers arrested officers, a Subdivision off Johnson after 4am, who was also between 4 last year, in police the at in TWO December shooter, While sent to the a wife, are Terrance. with a the from gunshot internal memo husband and stable condition home, a man armed the of- suffering Police also recov- government and obtained serious but shot multiapproached them wounds. from the by The Tribune. after they were responding shotgun both of a shotgun SEE PAGE 11 ficers and shot to flee ered ple times whileincident�. attempting The suspect.

SEE PAGE 12 to a “domestican adult male, before police said.

HowPolice have by one of the the scene, returned fire. con- officers suspect was able to who was shot custody in ever the officers, in the shooting. nection with

shootings one of six fatal area on Friday, e Staff in the Englerston in the calendar above.

W. Carey/:Tribun as shown at Peardale Park Photos: Terrel from the scene to be a deadly February, boy is taken a 15-year-old 12 so far in what has proven THE BODY of and one of over the weekend,

ERS IN HOSPITAL TWO POLICE OFFIC TED BY SHOTGUN AFTER BEING BLAS

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By NICO SCAVELLA Reporter of killings,� respond “as et Tribune Staff t ibunemedia.n enforcemen and in nscavella@tr as possible� in Perry quickly meaningful way�

PRIME Ministerlikened a “very fighting efforts. their crime Mr ChrisChristie yesterday crime situThese efforts,would likely the Bahamas’“Wild West,� suggested, a “subation to the recent wave tie dedicating the as he said in the capital include number of officstreets of of murders a “major� and stantial� to patrol the and simust solicit � effort by his ers Providence “continuous on to “flood New ly giving them to interdict administrati with officers in multaneous “the capacity of people the streets� is necesthat movements “all the a bid to do this madness on the streets,� incorporatpolice ofsary to bring ing more reserve to a halt�. speaking and “if necessary�

Mr Christie, yesterday, ficers, g Royal Bahaincorporatin with reporters occurForce marines mas Defence said the “madness� to gang activity in policing efforts. said he ring is due also Mr Christie with and retaliation. past bloody be speaking He said the a “shocking would SEE PAGE THREE weekend ist� that will redevelopmen government to press speaking at a Staff quire the Ellison Greenslade ER of Police Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune COMMISSION conference yesterday.

Act, Chapter Suppression boxer was of human trafficking.53, of 106.

The former with three JOHNSON James Coakley, Andros

By LAMECH also charged filed under on Ross Tribune Staff Reporteret Cargill Creek, of rape before Chief a double shooting bunemedia.n was broughtJoyann Fergu- counts 6(a) of the Sexual ljohnson@tri recent inci- Corner yesterday, lamented of most Section 99. It three two nature Magistrate one Chapter the in have left in “too bold� in the capto answer to per- Offences Act, appeared WELLS in dents, which three others the A MAN that he engaged yester- son-Pratt

By RICARDO Reporter occurring counts of trafficking Section is alleged man dead andserious condi- crimes as he insisted Magistrate’s Court Tribune Staff SEE PAGE SIX in sexually as- sons contrary to ital recently, nemedia.net of prolific in hospital accused of Trafficking rwells@tribu that a “handful hell-bent day woman during 3(1)(a) of the and saulting a harge of the offenders� remain holidays. and po- tion.

Persons Prevention Officer-in-c Unit, the public.

AS the country the Christmas a victim in Detective to grapple on terrorising alleged to be lice continue spate of vio- CentralSuperintendent ClaySEE PAGE THREE She is speaking to with the latest law enforce- Chief Fernander, scene of lent crimes, are seeking ton media on the ment officials assistance in the A DORSETT the public’s

By SANCHESKReporter et Tribune Staff bunemedia.n sdorsett@tri placed authorof an law as it investigatallow the ity solely in the hands POLICE are es sura The bill will t judiciary, T of police, or the circumstanc of a independen er met ing the ICB commission on his behalf, the death was that the

By AVA TURNQUES Reporter acting a adding standards rounding ld boy who .net person Tribune Chief warrant fromin- internationa l recent three-year-o tribunemedia e in a car to obtain a judge to aturnquest@ also addressed yesfound unresponsiv Supreme Court a per- and of the Listening in front of his daycare Y General tercept and examine from criticisms by the Privy ATTORNE tions ibson terday afternoon.

Devices Act communica the toddler Allyson Maynard-G the In- son’s ications opera- Council.

The body of shortly afsuggestion - telecommun providers and yesterday defended She said any by a was a was discovered of Communica tors, internet terception the legislation 2pm on Monday SIX important postal services. ter that an as false. yesterday, SEE PAGE bill� was tions Bill tool that would In a statement ibson ex- “spying anti-crime privacy of lawSEE PAGE FIVE was Mrs Maynard-G enhance the rather than that this move abiding citizensit, as detrac- plained ted in Bahamiunpreceden encroach upon FOR YOU... tors claim.

SO GOOD

ods� certain neighbourho to do so no and the suggestion and makes is “emotional sense�. came His comments rethe country after the country DESPITE homicides in hours its 27th homicide for recording 13 er of corded Seven people have the year.

13 days, Commission Greenslade been killed since Friday. afternoon, Police Ellison is not in a On Monday said the Bahamas and the reported that “crisis� police also outside a state of can conwas stabbed Nassau on day man average Bahamian about their the an establishment men were tinue to “go two without Street while in the area of as normal day� attacked. shot while victims fear of being conference Ross Corner. These stable At a press s on to be in of were said in hospital. at police headquarter a weekend Monday afterCommissioner condition er Commission so“carnage�, said it is simsaid the only for people Greenslade country’s crime Greenslade not enough at the lution to the “keep prolific ply the finger to of crisis�

He to “point problem is times bars�. in their offenders behind Bahamas police to “manage not yet refuse said the Royal (RBPF) is SEE PAGE THREE Police Force implementing considering “locking down a curfew or

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Deputy Prime nearly he to be “fighting for neither day after Phillip “Brave� page 45-year-old Nassau gressive Liberal of office as that The ernment out Day, May and predicted party nor the Ministerpredicted that the Village resident appeared Davis heralded Election seats in the SEE PAGE SEVEN Movement that will bring the governing will win 30 10, as a day Free Nationalseats in next PLP SEE PAGE TWO 30 change. spoke dur- will wingeneral election. at month’s Dr Minnis on conference as a guest ing a press Appearing SEE PAGE THREE

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By RASHAD Reporter Tribune Staff emedia.net rrolle@tribun Nottage’s DR Bernard forever be will “footprints the Bahamian etched on tal landscape� developmen work as a forthrough his of the Bahamer president of Athletic mas Association s, the Bahamas Association , the as a Medical Association Union and afMinDoctors’ consumer FORMER Prime reminister for health and to accept the ister Perry Christie a defeat, was as I did when I fairs, education, Opposifor it arrears, into pictured yesterday. W. national security, who was in sponsibility response to “Brave�

Photo: Terrel airport tenant described recent resigned,� he said in Leader Philip levelled e Staff tion as the criticism recent Carey/Tribun on from accusations Mr Christie in Davis said Wednesday. questions on 71, died administrati e spending, misfea- moves made by the government pandering at his administration Dr Nottage, the Cleveby a party of irresponsibl WELLS at a “misstep� thought

By RICARDO Reporter Wednesday He will receive sance and cronyism. that weeks. never any he was “disap- to its base. acceptmaintained Tribune Staff “There was land Clinic.

He also said allegations being in arrangenemedia.net that I was degree relating Mr Christie by the rwells@tribu gova state funeral announced, documents s would on my part y for any Per- pointed�around by the new be a review of irrements to ing responsibilit Prime Minister tossed matters that to these two controversie the press secof criminality, on of any FORMER according to Office of the yesterday condemned ernment concerning last term as absolve his administratithat much whatsoeverspending and the notion for the ry Christie administra- transpired during his is just prove retary sponsible bare’ and Minnis Anthony is is as noth- that ‘the cupboard wrongdoing efforts by the his government in Prime Minister, prime minister.at accusations from of the FNM’s rhetoric slogans.� tion to portray as he challenged Newbold. “political political slogans.�

Hitting back Minnis adminislight, SEE PAGE SIX ing more than challenges I have the SEE PAGE THREE a negative leader to carry out a members of the controvergovern“One of the the nation’s te examination of the who led the $8m to tration concerning of more thanclean up as the person led the government “dispassiona sial pay out and who record�. interview at one vendor for hurricane to an ment off of $1.2m During a lengthy home on Thursand the write his Cable Beach defended his day, Mr Christie

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traditions. just a short ROLLE “Earlier today,present ParBy RASHAD Reporter the while ago, Tribune Staff officially disemedia.net liament was Christie said. rrolle@tribun Mr of Perry solved,�seat in the House “Every PRIME Minister the prover- Assembly is now vacant. the to you, Christie rang morning, “It is now left beloved bial bell yesterday that the 2017 citizenry of our who will announcing be held on nation, to decide in the next election willMay 10. fill those seats In doWednesday, address, givof Assembly.

His televisedOffice of the House you will also be dethe ing so, en live at the came mowho will form Prime Minister, Commis- ciding of the BahaPolice government five years. ments after next Greenslade, for the that mosioner Ellison as provost mas “You will make in what ns in his capacity decision proclamatio pray marshal, readHouse of As- mentous hope and elecfair outside the Governor Gen- I earnestly and be free Pin- will following a spirited sembly from Marguerite Let tions eral Dame Parliament. peaceful campaign. dling dissolving said he is but the forthcoming Mr Christie election will us contestwith all the vigour confident the and will fol- elections fair at our command.� be free and and peaceful SEE PAGE TWO low a spirited is consistent campaign that political with this country’s

IS • FORMER PM BY DAVIS TRIBUTE TO LEGACY OF ‘DISAPPOINTED’ FNM ALLEGATIONS COLLEAGUE • SAYS GOVT DID NOTHING WRONGT OVER $8M PAYOU

ROBERTS: PEET A ‘POLITICAL ENEMY’ FOR ANDROS BID

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WELLS

By RICARDO Reporter Tribune Staff nemedia.net rwells@tribu G concern ADMITTIN Bernard Notin over what Dr have battled last tage may his isolation during Prime Minisdays, former yesterday for ter Perry Christie admiration the expressed forth by the effort put security to former national the build-up minister in election. the May general from his Breaking away since being public silence office in hisof a voted out last month, toric fashion ChrisMr his visibly troubled portions of his tie detailed with last conversation and longfriend childhood colleague on time political Thursday.

Centreville The former Nottage as Dr teMP saw “fought his someone who throughout naciously� he loved and life for thosetrait he said he a supported, to their up saw on display . last conversation PAGE SIX SEE

TERS yesFIREFIGH a large blaze terday battled Providence at the New three weeks Landfill, nearly a massive that after tackling city dump fire at the nearly a month. burned for Charge of Fire Officer in Chief SuperinServices, Evans said tendent Walter is “not confire the the current any way to this nected� in and at previous blazedo not know time officials the fire. Howwhat caused t Minister ever Environmen told rehe Kenred Dorsett the site that porters at “sabotage� in said suspected the fire. He relation to the team he “instructed�to have the of firefighters “before and blaze extinguished day� today nomination Baha Mar’s certainly before Friday. opening on started shortly The blaze and Wednesday after 3am officEvans said Chief Supt battle the fire to but ers expect day another for at least wind is a “huge� he said the factor.

SEE PAGE SIX

medical treatment.

SIVE Liberal were obtaineda from a ther’s PROGRES The emails Bradley EMAILS leaked following of China Con- by The Tribune Party Chairmanout at his highdata breach (CCA) Roberts lashed story in December of CCA struction America’s colleague Vinthat from the breach former party night, accusservers show2013, Jerome lighting by a San Francisco cent Peet last North Anto servers China Construction as early as was seeking ing the former Islands MP hacker.

Fitzgerald of dollars eventually paid 24 bitcoins dros and Berry enemy� $24,000) secure millions trucking, and (the equivalent of of being a “political an independin brokerage, to their servat Baha who mounted because he to have access it aplimousine contracts showing a resat in Cabinet ers restored; however, ent campaigna nomination forwarded leaked emails Mar while he of Educathat emails ONE of the Education, Sciwas denied party.

Minister of as the Minister and Tech- pears relating to personnel quest from or d, Jerome Fitzgerald. from the governing tion, Science Tribune has to, to PLP supcompromise ence and Technology Speaking at CCA were in The nology, The a rally in North officials at Baha Limolink at top for porters agent despite were not learned. night, Mr Robwhich his Bahamas. You are encourcontradict the saying they hack at from Andros last is war� as faThe emails this week de- Mar clientele with a reference by the if erts said “this writes, “I limousine company was vote aged to get of Viacom Minister, who his office to concerned the crowd toPerry Mr Fitzgerald matime. the president feel free he urged Dr nied ever using to himself the an email dated May 18, am aware that interior arrive miliar. with regard the you wish. Please In for incumbent that a vote “Also Izmirlian terials have began to really we direct contracts me personally adding business from the mul- 2013, sent to Mr the to contact with contact Gomez, hotel. I would or his family resort. is a vote for be limousine meet with or have your agents Mr Fitzgerald, Cur- for the for Mr Peet Movement. it if we couldbro- are ready to he ti-billion dollar - the Pro- by our Managing Porter, Shelly appreciate anytime,�

Free National Mr Porter Mr Fitzgerald Party MP QuentinAlarice Fill copied, appointed your official your people SEE PAGE SIX directly.� and his 2013.�

Liberal Director tis 1st writes. gressive we really ker for June - appears also Mr Fitzgerald indicates a request TWO & THREE “As indicated cusSEE PAGES for Marathon start brokerage $20,000 He then makesfor limouto highend for readiness to only cater are the official to be requesting Baha Mar’s and trucking services and of Mr Izmirlian and at Baha Mar, a month from Sarkis Mar project re- sine services the level of tomers Baha developer the of exoriginal as he touted the brokers citing the Izmirlian, were necessary remain for the property. penses that cost of his fa- cord to cover the Healthcare hisMarsh Harbour a tortured ROLLE Centre has missed deadBy RASHAD Reporter tory, one of of shoddy Tribune Staff and claims emedia.net lines without rrolle@tribun ip, all ity. of- workmansh ENT clear accountabil GOVERNM ed the anyThe facility’s original bankrupt. ficials commissionHealththe contractor went of Marsh Harbour n in Abaco yesConstructio care Centre centre began it as a longIngraham terday, touting to the island healthcare under the former awaited boost on. adminisin and the Christie Health administrati Christie adhealth centre When the e Staff tours the new tration’s National came to power, RASPBERRY Perry Christie the W. Carey/Tribun Insurance plans. and Ado- ministration renovating Photo: Terrel ICED TEA PRIME Minister it spent $1m Like the Child SEE PAGE SIX Abaco yesterday.

Robert Smith lescent and that was the (CARS) Complex ed last year, commission

it must Hurriis so devastated the island as Ragged Island remained on home has Minnis warns with those whohomes last week. “Every The Minister Dr Hubert en Rag- discussion battered their has been destroyed. has been health facility on storm-strick Min- cane Irma Prime teachers’ residence no water. destroyed. The and safety conditions to deteriorate, urged the 18 been has been destroyed. The is no light. There is HEALTH he smell the school will only continue destroyed. There about, you can yesterday as The in the afterged Island Minnis said to evacuate “As we walkcarcasses, dead animals. deister Dr Hubert on the island reduced will stench of dead of the individuals remaining residentsIrma, which has them REPORT that we get of rubble and SPECIAL health conditions Russell, math of Hurricane it’s essential there to piles Words: Khrisna W Carey teriorate and Dr Minnis said. only most structures Pictures: Terrel island unlivable. Dr Minnis to leave the for off this island,� rendered the bly reluctant stay here,� saw for the understanda home, expressing concern “They cannot Many were and a delegation and days known as said after he damage left by Irma ripped through place they’ve ever their residences, the hurricane of time safety belongings. monster first Five will have about the personal behind. We by the smell after the Category island. “They are concerned may have lefthere and the Defence exacerbated of all esmaterials they the small southern a vessel the same physical condition, the destruction still whatever Force dispatch the cleanup and at The island’s carcasses and strongly urge those the Defence Minnis said. THREE Dr of rotting animalled Dr Minnis to small community can Force will try to commence security,�

SEE PAGE that there is sential services, to leave until the time ensure Island has been on Ragged Ragged Island and be restored. to the residents; a walk through “I’ve spoken Minnis said following Dr devastated,�

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ManEmergency actiThe National t after they agement Agency (NEMA) the police managemen cations with from entering the vated its emergency evacuation and an were blocked at the Kenplan yesterday area. were also shelter was established at the Several persons with respira- dal G L Isaacs Gymnasium Centre to the hospital Elizabeth Sports during Gar- rushed on Queen as a shelter S in Jubilee tory complaints.

Tribune arrivedwere which was used - for displaced RESIDENT to evacuate their When The residents last hurricane dens were forced after a massive the scene, several as the the believed on their roofs,homes. residents. landfill homes yesterday the dump is smaller Providence pouring water their a The fire at fire at the Newcommunity in thick, blaze grew closer to started by for Tall to have been Road.

Parliament blanketed the smoke.

Member of Miller was also assist- bush fire off Fire Trail black hazardous AND THREE the Royal Bahamas Pines Leslie in hosing down their PAGES TWO entrance Members of SEE the residents transportaing blocked Police Force as visibility homes and providing help. who needed residents to the subdivision tion for those zero. Angry dropped to in verbal alterbecame involved fire off Fire a smaller bush to the city spread have ed by Movement fre- Trail Road that blanketed Jubilee fire the smoke in Jubilee the Free National areas in in to prevent dump. The flees from the A DORSETT YOUNGSTER done enough the New Providence Gardens and surrounding landfill that started at and threatened A at the New Providence to evacuate their ho

By SANCHESK Reporter quent fires have caused some of thick, black smoke officials fire were asked et Photos: S Tribune Staff prompting issues.

Landfill that Many residents bunemedia.n several homes, sdorsett@tri to develop respiratory SEE PAGE THREE came as a masJubi- them owners in Their comments at the landfill, raging ANGRY home was startyesterday expressed sive fire was lee Gardens concern that neither which officials believe nor disgust and Liberal Party the Progressive

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By RICARDO cases of im- Tribune Staff Reporter enced alleged nemedia.net officials solicitROLLE migration from migrants rwells@tribu

By RASHAD Reporter developer ing bribes Tribune Staff beatings of THE originalMar resort emedia.net and alleged prisoners in rrolle@tribun of the Baha the resort’s migrants and States has deyesterday said THE United Bahamas custody. the Ministry continued completiondates the Yesterday, the opening highlighted “intimida- of Foreign Affairs said lays, missed stag’s government ental “inaccurate� and “now supposedthe enof report had “incomtion of non-governm gered opening� s� and efforts and in some cases . into late next organisation and autire property Sarkis plete� information an incident year shows that superi by the government inhibit “free Referring to Minoffer “is thorities to criminal Education Izmirlian’s situation for in which speech through Jerome Fitzgerald or� to the current as problems this, an ister laws� libel However, despite SEE PAGE 12 in its latest the Bahamas report. human rights also referThe report

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