Former premier McKeeva Bush assaulted and raped a woman as she gave him a lift home from a bar because he was too drunk to drive, prosecutors alleged Friday.
After several days of delay caused by Hurricane Beryl and legal arguments, the Grand Court jury trial is under way for the West Bay West MP, who faces charges of rape and indecent assault.
The charges stem from an incident alleged to have occurred more than two decades ago, when Bush, now 69, is said to have assaulted a woman while he was inebriated.
The former premier and speaker of the house denies the allegations.
“There is no doubt that what the victim is describing, if you accept it, amounts to rape and indecent assault,” said prosecutor Eloise Marshall, KC, who leads the case against Bush.
When opening the case before the jury on Friday, 5 July, Marshall told the court that during a late evening sometime in 2000, the victim went to the Sea Inn bar in George Town to collect her mother, who was drunk and unable to drive home.
“Her mother was at a celebration for Alden [McLaughlin], now Sir Alden, where the defendant was also present,” Marshall said.
According to Marshall, the complainant was asked if she would drive Bush to his home in West Bay as he was also drunk.
“She agreed to drive Mr. Bush home, and somewhere in that journey he asked her to pull off the road into a smaller road,” said Marshall, who added that the complainant did so, thinking Bush needed to relieve himself.
She added, “They went somewhere down the road near the mangroves. He then leant over and began to kiss her head and upper body, and she just froze.”
According to Marshall, the complainant was scared and confused, and got out of the vehicle at Bush’s request, but added that his behaviour was not threatening.
Bush is said to have fondled the woman’s breast under her clothing, before kneeling on the ground and pulling the complainant with him.
“He was not aggressive, and she was confused and alone with him … a man who she says was a big man,” Marshall said, adding that, while on the ground, Bush proceeded to undress the woman and rape her.
Within a matter of minutes, the assault was said to be over.
“She remembers him having sex with her, kissing her up, slobbering on her,” Marshall said. “She felt he was going to squash her … he was so heavy.”
24 years to come forward
When addressing the delay in the witness coming forward, Marshall told the court that at the time of the incident, she was a 24-year-old single mother, and the daughter of a woman who would frequently get drunk at bars, while Bush, then 47, was a well-established, powerful politician.
“She didn’t tell anyone until 2021, after she started to have flashbacks of what happened,” Marshall said. “She had been scared to come forward because she was in denial … she blamed herself and felt she would bring great shame to herself, her family.”
According to Marshall, the complainant was tired of holding in the secret, out of fear of what Bush or his supporters might do to her.
Bush denies allegations
From the onset of the allegations, Bush has refuted the claims.
The jury heard that when Bush was arrested and interviewed by police, he didn’t answer any of their questions, instead referring them to a pre-prepared statement.
“In his statement, he said the allegations are nothing but utter lies,” Marshall said.
“He said there was no such event … [he] found out about the allegations through the police and didn’t know the reason behind the allegations.”
At the end of her opening statement, Marshall told the jury that it was ultimately for them to decide whether they believed the complainant’s account of events.
Following Marshall’s opening statement, the jury was released until Monday when the rape trial is set to resume at 10am.
Bush remains on bail.
Related Videos
