deaththreats

North Abaco MP Kirk Cornish was charged with rape, assault, and death threats on Wednesday for alleged abuse of his former girlfriend between January and April. The charges against the sitting Member of Parliament raised a legal question—do criminal charges disqualify Cornish from representing North Abaco in the House of Assembly?

The short answer is that even though Cornish is charged, the two counts of rape, two counts of assault, and one count of death threats against him cannot cause him to resign from the seat.

No law or rule stops him from staying in the House of Assembly while fighting the charges.

Cornish, a first-time MP, after winning the North Abaco seat in the September 2021 General Election, is not legally required to resign from his seat unless he is convicted and sentenced to more than 12 months in prison, according to Article 48 (1)(f) of the constitution.

If pressure from his party and the public builds, he can choose to leave his seat and the vacant seat would then require a by-election–when political parties put forward candidates as replacements for the MP who quit Parliament. Voters from the North Abaco constituency will choose who should succeed him.

In a statement released before his arraignment, Cornish defended his role as the partner in the two-year relationship with Warduia Lightbourne. “The charges are based on allegations which are totally false.

“I am fully confident that the facts which emerge during the judicial process will prove my innocence. I look forward to ending this nightmare…this was a breakup that was manipulated and exploited for political reasons—and nothing more.

“The truth will set me free.”

The charges are embarrassing for the Progressive Liberal Party and have thrust the mp’s conduct into the national spotlight since he also served as parliamentary secretary in the Prime Minister’s office before his resignation on Tuesday night.

While he is not the first sitting parliamentarian to be charged with a crime, it is a practical hurdle that could inhibit the governing party’s campaign in the next general election.

The woman who accused Kirk Cornish of raping, assaulting and issuing death threats against her during their two-year relationship, was named in a court document as Warduia Lightbourne.

Earlier in the year when Lightbourne made the allegations, she was never officially identified but remained anonymous with broadcast media only showing her lower extremities as she recounted the horrid details entailing her boyfriend, the first-time North Abaco MP.

She filed the police report in April and Cornish was charged on Wednesday on five counts–two counts of rape, two counts of assault and one count of threats of death. She is expected to testify against him when the trial date is set, which will thrust her into the national spotlight.

Who is Warduia Lightbourne?

Lightbourne’s  Facebook page said she studied medicine in Cuba and pictures show her in a medical uniform as she holds a certificate from the Latin America School of Medicine in Havana.

Friends congratulated her as a pediatrician in 2020.

How did Warduia Lightbourne describe the rape, assault and death threats?

The 35-year-old accused Cornish of raping, assaulting and threatening her between January and April.

According to the claims, Cornish choked her twice near unconsciousness, then poked her in the eye which he excused to be ‘an accident’ while the couple stayed in Abaco.

She alleged he even threatened to kill her family while she watched.

On March 24 while spending time in Nassau together, Lightbourne 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.

During her conversation with the media in April, she 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.”

A 58-year-old Carmichael Road man was arrested Wednesday, held for questioning on threats to kill Prime Minister Philip Davis.

Police said this is still an ongoing investigation.

This comes after Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander suggested that Lincoln Bain Leader of the fragmented political group Coalition of Independents and his supporters have spewed incendiary comments possibly leading to the criminal threat.

Police have not revealed the name of the individual in custody or his connection to any political group, but Bain has since insisted he is not responsible for inciting death threats against Davis.

“I am not responsible for the words of any adult,” a defensive Bain insisted in a social media video post after Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander in a press conference stated that the COI may be behind calls made to Davis’ office on Friday.

Bain and his supporters held a protest on Wednesday in Parliament Square protesting the influx of Haitian migrants, in which they blamed Davis and his government for not doing enough to curtail the immigration problem. One supporter is even seen swearing at Davis as he made his way to the House of Assembly under heavy police guard. And another man shouts for the police to “assassinate” him.

Bain insisted he was not present when the remarks were made. “It took place before I was there. It is not my duty to control anyone’s words.”

Because of two anonymous calls to kill the prime minister, Fernander said the Royal Bahamas Police Force would beef up security to ensure Davis’ safety.

“The threat level is high, based on the calls,” Fernander said as he insisted that the COI is “in line of inquiry,” as authorities conduct investigations

“Lincoln has to control his supporters.”

Fernander promised a meeting with Bain who seems to attract a growing number of Bahamians feeling marginalized by society.

Bain ran in the 2021 election and hopes to lead his group to the general election in 2024, pushing his far-right ideologies and extremist views on immigration.

In his quest to create ‘a new Bahamas,’ some of his actions have raised eyebrows.