Two witnesses told a Grand Court jury Wednesday that a woman confided in them that she had been raped by former Premier McKeeva Bush, who is on trial over the allegations, said to have occurred more than 20 years ago.
Bush, 69, is facing one count each of rape and indecent assault, both of which he denies.
On Wednesday, the third day of witness testimony in the trial, prosecutor Eloise Marshall, KC, questioned the two witnesses, who gave evidence via video link from Florida.
In their brief testimonies, they told the court they met the complainant sometime in 2018 when she began attending their church after she had relocated to the US.
“I’m the pastor’s wife, and so it was easy for her to confide in me,” the first witness said. “We had started going out to lunch and began getting to know each other. Then, after several months, she told me that she had been sexually assaulted by a man in power who was a powerful politician, but she never told me his name.”
She told the court that she could not be sure of the date of this conversation, but it was sometime between 2018 and 2020.
The second witness, who is a pastor – not the husband of the first witness – told the court a similar version of events, adding that as part of a personal healing session, the complainant spoke about her assault.
“I believe the word she used was ‘rape’, and that it occurred somewhere in the countryside, or a remote area after he had driven her there,” the man said. “She told me he was a politician but the only name that I got was McKeeva.”
During cross-examination, both witnesses told the court that they were contacted by the complainant in October 2022 by text message, asking them if they remembered her conversations about the alleged rape.
In those text messages, she is said to have expressed a desire to report the matter.
The final witness called by the prosecution was Detective Constable Nevron Bradshaw, who headed up the investigation.
“I remember flying to the US in October of 2022 to interview the complainant and take her statement,” Bradshaw said. “I went on to take an additional five statements to clarify certain matters.”
Bradshaw told the court that he reached out to people named by the complainant and managed to gather statements from several.
He told the court that during his investigations, he spoke to Sir Alden McLaughlin, a former premier and political rival of Bush, about the incident but was told McLaughlin was not aware of any such allegations.
Bush’s defence team, led by Jerome Lynch, KC, questioned Bradshaw on whether he could confirm if there was ever an occasion where McLaughlin and former Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts were present with Bush at any parties or celebrations at the bar alleged by the complainant, to which he responded no.
Following the conclusion of the day’s evidence, the prosecution gave a set of brief agreed facts to the jury before closing their case.
Jurors were sent home at the request of Lynch, who asked to use the time to provide counsel to his client.
Bush remains on bail.
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