bahamas

Last week, many were confused about a reported incident involving the death of 2-year-old Anwar Miller and his father Jermaine, the tenant of the complex off Soldier Road, where a fight broke out between him, a nude man and a woman, who rented from him.

The police gave chase after he tried to evade capture, but the father eventually locked himself in a bedroom and jumped through an opening in a shattered window.
Though eventually arrested, he later died.

Anwar’s dead body was found on a bed.

Now, nearly five days later, police are still investigating the case and last, is questioning the mother of the two-year-old.

Many questioned Jermaine’s death after the arrest. Now police are revealing what ultimately killed Jermaine. Police said on Tuesday that the taxi driver died from cardiac arrhythmia–abnormal heart rhythm, which under pressure, may have stopped beating.

The young boy’s death still remains undetermined as a pathology test is still pending.

It is not known if Jermaine had an underlying health condition, perhaps contributing to his death which could have or could not have had a direct cause.

Just ten days prior, Jermaine seemed troubled, posting a picture of his sons to social media, suggesting they were estranged somehow and for whatever reason, which has not yet been revealed to the public.

“I miss waking up and checking on y’all, watching y’all sleep and seeing you’ll laugh. Miss our beach days, pizza days and game nights. [I] feel like I [am] freaking out. I ain’t happy,” he lamented.

His wife Sheniqua Dorvil, 27, who shares a 6-year-old son with him, was stunned at his death since her son and Anwar, who is the son of another woman, were both spending time together when the incident happened. Dorvil said he came by her work to pick up clothing for the child. “He was in a rush. When he pulled up to my work he was okay. He didn’t look like anyone that was going through anything.”

Twenty-six-year-old Marcus Major, a manager at Greycliff Restaurant, before a tragic, fiery car crash on Saturday, was remembered for the hard work he demonstrated at his place of employment.

Friend Michell Moss said he was “such a nice, respectful [and] hardworking young man.

“It’s sad to see [him] leave.”

Having served as a manager since 2014, Major was constantly up and ready on his day off whenever his employer called.

Sister Andrea Clarke who resides in the United States said he would consistently oblige for the sake of more money.

“Every time he home, his job would call him and ask if he could just come in.”
“And he would be like, ‘Yeah, I’ll make it.’

“I would always tell him, ‘Sometimes just stay home. Stay home with your family and just have some time with your family.’ And he would say, ‘No, I have to go to work, I need this money,'” Clarke said.

She previously warned him, “whenever you’re tired and you feel like your body can’t move, don’t force yourself to go to work because you never know what’s gonna happen, you know?”

The younger sister believed he fell asleep at the wheel.

Major was reportedly heading home from work in the early morning hours, when his Nissan Skyline hit a utility pole and burst into flames on Saturday, while travelling south along Mackey Street.

When fire fighters extinguished the blaze, they discovered his remains in the driver’s seat.

Clarke said his demise has left a remarkable hole in her family’s heart including her toddler niece. “Our two-year-old niece keeps asking her mommy if her uncle is dead.

“Marcus could you please wakeup and let Layah know you are still here, please brother,” she cried.

Friend Jasmine Deveaux remembered him as “a nice [and] sweet person.”

Another friend Deeks Rolle said he will miss Major because he was “decent” and “respectable.”

“Such a hardworking young man,” Samuel Bowe echoed.

“He is going to be a huge miss. Such a sweetheart. That smile of his lit up a room,” Dawn Pinder mourned.

Clarke would not see her brother funeralized since she is awaiting US citizenship.

The two ministers in Prime Minister Philip Davis’ cabinet facing controversy and challenges in their ministries, prompting the Opposition’s call for resignation, have been swapped in a recent reshuffle.

Keith Bell is no longer the Minister of Immigration but have been sent to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. This comes on the heel of an “unorthodox” move of granting citizenship to three people at a funeral. And in a leaked letter, senior immigration officer in the Ministry of Immigration expressed a lack of confidence in him following the order to release 60 Chinese immigrants working on a construction site who were found to have irregularities with their documents.

In Sunday’s national address, Davis praised him for his leadership skills and experience in the Ministry of Immigration.

Davis then assigned Alfred Sears to the Ministry of Immigration and National Insurance, the post Bell held.

Sears who served as Minister of Works with responsibility for Bahamas Power and Light, was accused of misleading the House of Assembly and rejecting a plan that could have saved Bahamians $100 million on electricity bills.

Opposition leader Michael Pintard also charged that Sears and Davis were aware of the consequences of not executing the fuel hedging trades that would have kept BPL’s fuel charge low. Sears denied receiving or seeing any recommendations to continue the hedging programme and blamed the Ministry of Finance for the decision.

Eventually, Sears admitted inadvertently that he had seen the plan after initially claiming he knew nothing about it.

Typically, a reshuffle happens when a prime minister’s popularity decreases and when Cabinet ministers act out of order and drifts away from the prime minister’s agenda. Davis, though, defended the two ministers’ actions.

It is Davis’ responsibility to replace low preforming ministers in high priority portfolios.

Though swapping ministerial posts is not abnormal, it is an opportunity to reshuffle post-election.

As was expected after Prime Minister Philip Davis prorogued the House of Assembly last month, he announced a major reshuffle of his cabinet on Sunday evening, less than two years after taking office.

The changes affect a few ministers and several state portfolios, and are aimed at improving the performance and efficiency of the government as it faces multiple challenges.

According to Davis, the reshuffle was based on consultations with his ministers and an assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. Davis said he wanted to ensure that each minister was in a position to best serve the country.

Here are some of the notable changes:

– Jomo Campbell who was serving as Minister of State for Legal Affairs, will become the new Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources. He will replace Clay Sweeting, who will take over the Ministry of Works and Family Island Affairs from Alfred Sears.
– Alfred Sears will move to the Ministry of Immigration and National Insurance, where he will succeed Keith Bell. Davis praised Bell’s leadership and said he will now head the Ministry of Housing and Urban Renewal, which was previously under JoBeth Coleby-Davis.
– JoBeth Coleby-Davis will become the new Minister of Energy and Transport. Coleby-Davis will also oversee the newly created portfolio of Minister of State for Aviation, which will be held by Basil McIntosh.
– Pia Glover-Rolle, who was hailed as a “bright star” by the Prime Minister for her role as Minister of State for Public Service, will be promoted to Minister of Labour and Public Service. She will take over Labour from Keith Bell.
–Zane Lightbourne will become Minister of State for the Environment.
– Davis also said there will be some changes in other ministerial portfolios, but he did not provide any details. He said he will announce them later.

Why the shuffle?

Davis’ timing on reshuffling his Cabinet comes after he suddenly prorogued the House of Assembly on August 14. Political observers then highly anticipated that he would reshuffle the Cabinet during this time.

The Opposition, weeks before the prorogation, called for the resignation of Immigration Minister Keith Bell and Works Minister Alfred Gray who were ensnared in controversies in their perspective ministries. Though Davis has not publicly announced his reasoning for the reshuffling, he noted that it is “my halfway point before we move into what I call election mode.”

Typically, a reshuffle happens when a prime minister’s popularity decreases and when Cabinet ministers act out of order and drifts away from the prime minister’s agenda. Though it is not abnormal, it is an opportunity to reshuffle post-election.

It is his responsibility to replace low preforming ministers in high priority portfolios.

What the Opposition says?

Opposition Leader Micheal Pintard called the reshuffle “lackluster” and and indication that Davis knows his government’s popularity is decreasing with the public.

“The names attached to the government plate may be different, but little has changed.”

When the House was prorogued, questions tabled by the Opposition in regard to Keith Bell’s dealings in his ministerial portfolio and government’s procurement act remained unanswered.

“When these ministers finally return to work, there will still be over one hundred unanswered questions on the desk from the Opposition,” Pintard reminded them.

Serial Sex Offender Sidney Cooper is set to be released from the Bahamas Department of Corrections on Friday after a six-year sentence.

The 47-year-old man was convicted of 15 sex crimes dating back to the year 2000.

In 2021, he appealed a sentence but lost his bid to quash his 6-year sentence arguing that the maximum penalty should have been 3 years.

Magistrate Samuel McKinney refuted his claims, stating that a provision in the law allows the doubling of a sentence for recidivism.

What is known about Sidney Cooper

It is believed he sexually assaulted 23 women in almost two decades

In 2019, he sexually assaulted a teen girl in the downtown area.

He groped a 9-year-old girl at a public pump in 2016

He groped a policewoman while on trial in 2016.

While on trial, Cooper groped a 2nd woman officer in court in 2021.

Experts have diagnosed him with frotteurism — he achieves sexual stimulation or orgasm by touching and rubbing against a person without consent

Cooper was to receive special treatment while imprisoned.

What Sidney Cooper said before his release from prison

Minister of National Security warned that Cooper could re-offend stating that when he spoke with Cooper he said that he is aroused by women who dress in shorts, smile with him, whose hips move while they walk, and “lick” their lips.

Copper said he has a “spirit in him since he was a child and does not believe that the spirit should bow.”

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Shawn Neely, a Bahamian National swimmer on scholarship in the US surpassed his initial medical expense of $50,000 and is now seeking to raise $120,000 as he fights cancer.

With assistance from family and friends, Neely has already raised over 56,000 and was recently released from a hospital in the US after a 2-month stay after undergoing intense chemotherapy.

“My body has responded relatively well to the chemotherapy, resulting in tumor shrinkage, and I’ve managed the symptoms fairly well.”

Neely is fighting stage 4 rhabdomyosarcoma—cancer formed in the soft tissue, after an initial diagnosis of another rare cancer called Metastatic Paratesticular Rhabdomyosarcoma in July last year.

After a 4 month battle, doctors gave him a clean bill of health, after removing the mass which resulted in the loss of one of his testicles.

“However, life had other plans for me. Almost a year later, I began experiencing severe pain in my abdomen and had to be hospitalized.”

Doctors at Mofitt Cancer Center are hoping their plan of 14 rounds of chemotherapy and surgical procedure after the tumour is reduced will eradicate the cancer and he becomes free from the illness with life beyond 5 years.

“By contributing to this campaign, you will provide me the opportunity with the financial support I desperately need to continue fighting this rare cancer without the constant worry of crippling medical debt… Thank you from the depths of my heart for standing by me in this battle against cancer.”

Neely says your help and belief in me gives him strength, hope, and the determination to keep fighting so dive into a pool again.

Prime Minister Philip Davis is facing accusations that his unexpected decision to prorogue the House on Saturday is an attempt to cover up the controversies and inadequacies in his government.

On Saturday the Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander read the proclamation in a surprise ending of the current parliamentary session.

Though the government boasts of ending its legislative session claiming to pass over one hundred bills, Free National Movement Opposition Leader Michael Pintard said 199 questions tabled by the Opposition, remain unanswered.

He believes the Davis administration is attempting to evade accountability.

“We believe that we witness a desperate and a feeble attempt by the Davis-Cooper administration to escape the undeniable truth that they are failing the Bahamian people despite benefiting from the rebounding world economy, pent-up demand, and business returning to the pre-pandemic levels,” he said at a press conference on Sunday.

“We also find it astonishing for the government to embark on a two-month hiatus from parliamentary activities precisely when the nation faces dire challenges on multiple fronts. They reek of negligence and indifference.”

This comes amid rape and assault charges against North Abaco MP Kirk Cornish and Immigration Minister Keith Bell’s scandal in the issuance of citizenships in “unorthodox” moves and with failure to follow the law.

The timing of prorogation is questionable.

Former House clerk Maurice Tynes questioned why Davis did not seek to publicize his decision to prorogue the House.

“We have to demystify this issue of prorogation,” he said.

“It’s not supposed to be so mysterious and private. Governments are supposed to let Parliament know in six weeks, we’re going to end our legislative agenda. It isn’t supposed to be a secret. In Britain, they prorogue, I think, every September. Everyone knows it’s coming. People like to keep things close to their chest when it ought not to be that way.”

The spotlight was on Parliament on Saturday as Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander read a proclamation from the Governor-General on the advice of Prime Minister Philip Davis, proroguing Parliament until October 4—a move that would kill all tabled questions and unfinished business, and expire all legislation.

The move comes two days after North Abaco MP Kirk Cornish was charged with five counts of rape, assault, and threats of death against a former girlfriend; and the Opposition continues to question Immigration Minister Keith Bell over his issuance of citizenship without due process.

Calls for Cornish and Bell’s resignations have gone unanswered and Davis remains mum over the controversies.

What does it mean to prorogue Parliament?

Proroguing the government means all sessions have ended. The legislature is prorogued by the Governor General, on the advice of the prime minister.

The move kills all bills and no committees are allowed to sit during a prorogation.

Proroguing Parliament can be a standard practice often used by political leaders to cancel existing legislation sitting before the House and set a new government agenda. It can also be used by political leaders to strategically prevent certain businesses from happening.

Has it happened before?

It was used in August 2021 as Former Prime Minister Hubert Minnis called a snap election, amid a spat with House Speaker Halson Moultrie who attempted to hold an “open parliament” in the square, accusing Minnis and his Cabinet of “unconstitutionally” shutting down the Parliament for an “unprecedented period” of time.

Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham reportedly prorogued the House every two years and Former PM Perry Christie prorogued the House in 2006 to reshuffle his Cabinet.

Disgraced FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried who moved his multi-million dollar crypto empire to the Bahamas in 2021, is on a third night at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after he violated his bail order.

The 31-year-old who adopted the Bahamas as his home, courting government officials before his empire imploded and was extradited to face fraud charges in the United States, tampered with witnesses ahead of his October trial according to Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

“My conclusion is there is probable cause to believe the defendant has attempted to tamper with witnesses on at least two… there is a rebuttable presumption that there is no set of conditions that will ensure Bankman-Fried will not be a danger.

“He has gone up to the line over and over again, and I am going to revoke bail,” Judge Kaplan said on Friday.

Since his extradition, Bankman-Fried was on bail and confined to his parent’s $4 million Palo Alto home.

What happened?

Prosecutors said, Bankman-Fried reached out to former FTX.US General Counsel Ryne Miller and used a virtual private network to watch the Super Bowl. Also, he shared part of his associate’s Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison’s private diary with the New York Times in an attempt to intimate her since she is a major witness for the prosecution in the case.

While on bail, prosecutors said he’s had conversations with author Michael Lewis, who is writing a book about FTX that is set for publication the week the trial begins.

After the judge’s order, Bankman-Fried was instructed to remove his navy suit jacket as two US marshalls prepared to handcuff him. His mother, Barbara Fried, attempted to approach him but was warned to stand back by a court officer and was expected to be taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

The big story

After moving his exchange from Hong Kong to the Bahamas, Bankman-Fried flooded the Bahamas with money and donations. A little more than one year later, the millions of dollars disappeared from his exchange and it collapsed. He filed for bankruptcy.

Bankman-Fried’s trial is set for October as he faces charges of wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering and related conspiracy charges.

The industry titan courted by politicians and celebrities is now a criminal defendant facing years in prison.

Bankman-Fried’s lawyer said in court, he was protecting his reputation and intended to appeal.

A prosecutor has charged North Abaco MP Kirk Cornish on 5 counts centering on the alleged abuse of his former girlfriend. The first-time Member of Parliament who came to office in 2021 was arraigned in the Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday morning following months of swirling accusations and questioning.

Cornish is charged with counts of sexual assault, physical assault, and death threats.

He did not enter a plea, was denied bail, and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Corrections. His attorneys Owen Wells and Anthony McKinney made a mad dash to the Supreme Court seeking bail approval.

The night before his arraignment Cornish said “The truth will set me free,” proclaiming the allegations came as a result of “a break up that was manipulated and exploited for political reasons—and nothing more.”

What is Kirk Cornish charged with?

The 5-count charges returned by prosecutors on Wednesday include:

• Two counts of rape
• Two counts of assault
• One count of threats of death

Questions about Kirk Cornish’s conduct

The charges against Cornish were filed after months of police investigations and after he was questioned in April for the alleged claims. He was elected the Member of Parliament in September 2021 for North Abaco following the General Election and during his second year serving in the position, he has been dogged by the allegations about his conduct toward his girlfriend who appeared in the media to reveal the horrid details of their two year relationship. The woman Warduia Lightbourne said “…something has to be done because he needs help, and whatever route that takes, it has to be done. I didn’t do this to hurt him, I did this to help him.”

Cornish has been accused of choking her twice near unconsciousness, then poking her in the eye which he excused to be an accident. She alleged he even threatened to kill her family while she watched.

On March 24 while spending time in Nassau together, she said Cornish held a knife to her throat and attempted to stab her. Then on April 4, he ripped off her pants and underwear and forced himself on her. Before leaving the house, the MP said he came by to kill the family but ‘not enough of the family was in the yard.’

She then filed a police report on April 7.

Cornish was questioned by police in May and released as police continued their investigations.

Since the court filings, he has resigned as Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister and remains the MP for North Abaco.

When will Cornish appear in court?

He will return to court on October 17 for a Voluntary bill of indictment and could face years in prison.