One of the country’s founding fathers and a former Minister of Immigration Loftus Roker died on Monday after a short stint in hospital.
He was 88 years old.
As Immigration Minister, Roker took a tough stance on policies in the Sir Lynden Pindling’s government. And in his latter years, he often defended his former ministerial position, calling himself a nationalist and becoming a public critic of the country’s current immigration policies.
Prime Minister Philip Davis in tribute on Monday said, “Whether on the backbench or as a minister, he spoke his mind and shaped our country’s policies with a vision of freedom and equality. Mr Roker was celebrated throughout his career for his candidness and unrelenting dedication to the truth.”
“He was the conscience of the Progressive Liberal Party, a tireless advocate for transparency and accountability in government. His voice, often the standard for political candour, resonated in the halls of power, urging us to prioritise the common good above all.”
Here’s what to know about him:
- He was born on 25th August, 1935 in Delectable Bay, Acklins, to Elkin and Dolores Theodora Roker.
- He ran in the 1968 general election and became the member of parliament for the Nicholls Town and Berry Islands constituency.
- In 1985, Mr. Roker was appointed Minister of National Security and Minister of Immigration. He considered himself a ‘black nationalist’ who believed in black leadership.
- Mr Roker was a signatory to The Bahamas’ independence and embarked on the historic trip to London in 1972 to negotiate the country’s independence from Great Britain.
- The Acklins Central High School was renamed in his honour with an official ceremony held at the school campus in Pompey Bay, August 4, 2023.
- In the 1980’s, he was portrayed in a cartoon as “Loftdzilla” because of his blunt approach to immigration.
- He stressed in 2015 that he did not have a prejudice against Haitian nationals and spoke of one time declining an application of Marguerite Pindling, wife of Lynden Pindling, for two gardeners. “When I was trying to do my job, I did my job. I might have been harsh, but I did my job,” he said.
- Human Rights Lawyer Fred Smith referred to his tenure as an “infamous reign of terror” and holds him “largely responsible for cementing in the minds of average Bahamians the idea that Haitians and people of Haitian descent are second-class citizens.”
- Roker criticized former Immigration Minister Keith Bell in 2023 after Bell was embroiled in controversy surrounding 60 Chinese nationals working in the Bahamas without permits. “The country lacks leadership…How the hell did they get here? How did we allow them to land? We trying to fool ourselves. We don’t have any leadership,” he told the Guardian.