Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart said both the governor and the Judicial and Legal Services Commission cannot “turn a blind eye” to the finding made in the McKeeva Bush case, which was stopped Thursday and the veteran lawmaker discharged.
Bush,73, was on trial for indecent assault. After three days of legal arguments, presiding judge Stanley John ruled there was an abuse of process from the prosecution.
The ruling highlighted issues with the “process by which the decision to prosecute was made”.
This led to the jury in the case being discharged Thursday and Bush leaving the courthouse a free man.
Action expected
McTaggart responded with concern when the Compass reached out for comment Friday.
“The fact is that the judge found that the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, in their determination to mount a case against MP McKeeva Bush, engaged in an abuse of process that threatened the integrity of the justice system,” McTaggart said.
He said that is a “very damning finding and one to which the Governor and the Judicial and Legal Services cannot simply turn a blind eye”.
Bush had been accused of indecently assaulting two women at a government cocktail reception in September 2022. He denied the two charges of indecent assault and two alternate charges of common assault.
Those charges stemmed from two separate incidents that allegedly occurred on the night of 13 Sept. 2022 at the cocktail reception, which was part of a Caribbean Tourism Association conference, at The Ritz-Carlton hotel.
McTaggart said he fully expects that “in short order” an announcement will be forthcoming as to what action will be taken to address what the judge in the case has found “to be a deliberate and disquieting abuse of process of such gravity that it led him to discharge Mr. Bush”.
He said he will withhold further comment until he sees what action will be taken by the Governor and the JLSC.
The Compass reached out to the Governor’s Office for comment on the case to ask whether any action will be taken.
A spokesperson for the office said, “This is a matter for the court. Governor will review the full reasons once they are made public”.
The Compass has reached out to the Judicial and Legal Services Commission for comment. We are awaiting a response.
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