Speaker accused of sexual harassment at CTO bash
(CNS): Speaker McKeeva Bush was reportedly escorted off the premises of the Ritz-Carlton hotel on Tuesday evening, by a colleague, after he was accused of sexually harassing two female government employees at a cocktail party hosted by the tourism ministry for the Caribbean Tourism Organization event. While there has been no confirmation from officials that Bush was the culprit, both the police and the premier’s office said they were aware of the allegations about the behaviour of a senior member of Parliament towards women present at the event.
CNS learned early this morning that it was the speaker and member for West Bay West who allegedly behaved inappropriately towards two women employed by different government departments during the course of the evening and had reportedly been asked to leave as a result.
Police have confirmed that they were aware of the accusations. “No formal complaint has yet been made to the RCIPS by either of the women concerned,” the police stated. “The RCIPS has commenced an investigation and will interview both women to ascertain whether a complaint/complaints are to be made.”
CNS reached out to Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan and Premier Wayne Panton for comment. Bryan, who is hosting the CTO event, has not yet responded but the premier has acknowledged the allegations.
“Although I was not in attendance at the tourism event on Tuesday evening, I have received reports through social media and otherwise alleging an incident with a Member of Parliament,” Panton stated in an emailed message. “I have been informed that the RCIPS commenced an investigation on the matter and have issued a statement. In the current circumstances it is not prudent for me to make further comment at this time.”
When Panton formed the government with Bush in April 2021, he had agreed to a number of conditions, including the immediate implementation of a Code of Conduct for all Parliamentarians, where any infractions would lead to immediate dismissal from their position. Bush also agreed to donate 10% of his monthly salary to the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre and to continue supporting women’s issues.
The conditions were set because of Bush’s conviction for assault in December 2020 in relation to a well-documented incident at a bar in Seven Mile Beach earlier that year. Bush, who was intoxicated at the time and had passed out on the premises., assaulted the female manager when she tried to assist him.
However, there is no indication that Bush has met any of the conditions. There is no evidence that he made any donations to the Crisis Centre or any other relevant charity. And almost 18 months after the election, there is not sign that the code of conduct for MPs will be on the statute books anytime soon. While the premier steered through the first-ever Ministerial Code of Conduct for Cabinet members in July last year, Bush is not a member of Cabinet.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
If was him going forward for public events can we just put him in straight jacket with some sort of muzzle and then dolly him around like Hannibal Lecher?
I hear you. The eventual destination would be behind bars, with no internet, no fancifal foods, no exotic coffee, no nighttime rubdown. A flat, uncomfortable slab bed, a metal toilet, and all the books he wouldn’t care to read.
This is really sad…a woman assaulter …a convicted coke dealer…an Un-convicted coke dealer and on and….
Formal complaint or not, the man is a menace to society and a sex pest.
Please tell us how to be rid of this evil!
“My hands are clean and my heart is pure”
I am 100% sure someone has said this. At a bare minimum he should be suspended from office as any civil servant would.
Next, stripped of his title and any additional pay that goes along with it.
I hope and pray he is removed from office.
PACT you deserve this. Wayne you most of all. You left PPM crying and screaming how bad he was. Then at the first drop of the hat you took him on board for sake of power. WAYNE YOU, YOU DESERVE THIS.
Clean the swamp pronto
But can you educate the WB electorate that the MacBeater is not worthy? Can you convince them that the payouts, free appliances, repairs, do not outweigh the damage he does for the reputation of Cayman? I sadly suspect not. The education level of the WB electorate is pitiful, and future elections will prove this, as has past ones where they knew of his indiscretions and still voted him in.
While I agree, I doubt WB residents are reading CNS. They are watching FOX, watching ‘Loony Toons,’ Watching garbage. They will certainly re-elect “Papa Bush”, as he is a god to them, he brings… microwaves!
Probably not. If we impose term limits, that will do the job.
No. Civil servants can smuggle drugs into prison, and a year later, still be on full pay and benefits.
Mr. McKeeva is the poster child for term limits.
He is a disgrace to his office, the Cabinet, and the People of the Cayman Islands. I do not believe there is any justification for his continuance in office.
He should thank God that his influence has kept him out of jail. Selah.
First drop of the hat? I think you forget how uncertain everything was in that time with who was going to form the government. I can say for certain that taking on Mac was not a decision made lightly. With the alternative being a Dart puppet government, I understand why he made that deal with the devil.
If you want to blame anyone, blame the people who keep voting him back in… scandal after scandal. The fact that someone with his record is even allowed to run in the first place is an indictment on all of us.
Let’s hope the victims do the right thing and make formal complaints, he has been getting away with this for years. He is an embarrassment to Cayman
The women concerned are Caymanian, so they or their friends and family will probably have some reason not to press charges.
Hope they don’t let this go, for the sake of the next possible victim.
He is an as hole!
I agree. He is a sick man. I have witnessed on more than one occasion him being kick out if Bananas night club because he was grabbing up the girls there. Time for him to be stopped.
That’s literally the modus operandi of Bananas.
Let’s hope the police do the right thing and investigate and prosecute whether or not there is a complainant! Has he breached the conditions of his sentence, or not?
Apparently not – the suspended sentence expired in July.
Not true. It was 2 years from December 2020.
But he gets re-elected? Repeatedly…
All them board appointees are probably quivering right now. Anything from those loud mouths who ran and lost in the last election and all the others that were out there grand standing with this and their fake news. Weren’t they tagging #sheissupported anywhere they could? They are complicit in getting this mess of a government formed and have said nothing about the matter since. Shameful.
Wayne when you make a deal with the devil this is what you get. Ego is a hell of a thing. You hired him Wayne, now your need to fire him because everyone knows he won’t have the common decency to to the right thing – he never has. The speaker has a driver, an rich expense account. He goes on every parliamentary trip and conference, even when he isn’t invited he weasels his way in. This PACT government is afraid of him and he bully’s them every chance he gets. For Gods sake, Kathy needs have some courage and stand up this piece of ?@#$ and not support he fellow West Bay pal. Time to do your job members PACT!!
He spends every Sunday in the Devils’s Den err Church and calls himself a Christian. What a buffoon!
JuJu no words from you and your bible ? Sorry I forgot you only leave your closet when the LGBT community is involved.
Please, for the love of every decent human being on these islands, get this piece of shit out of public office and into a prison cell. Just seeing pictures of him in that bloody wig and robe makes me sick to my stomach. NOW IS THE TIME WAYNE, KICK HIM OUT!!!!
HE Governor. Aren’t you supposed to ensure good governance for His Majesty’s overseas territories? Or was Mac right when he greeted you off the plane in 2018 ‘Cockroach ain’t got no place in a rooster fight’? Get rid of this embarrassment to these islands. We can no longer tolerate his behaviour no matter that he knows where the bodies are buried!
Governors have been facilitating Mac for decades. Perhaps unwillingly, or unwittingly, but some have been complicit. It is disgusting what he has been allowed to do.
Given behaviour think we all know who the cockroach is.
What I see happenin’, is pure bureaucratic harassment.
The gow’ment needs to turn this speakerMan around
*unadulterated bureaucratic harassment
This POS can’t even behave himself during the mourning of the Queen. If she was still alive she would be so embarrassed for this country. You imbecile do the right thing if you love this country like you proclaim and retire and stay in West Bay with the uneducated idiots that you granted status to. We are sick and tired of you embarrassing this country. You are not fit to be the Speaker of the house you made that very clear.
YOU ARE A NATIONAL DISGRACE!!!
@10:52:
The primary national disgrace is the group that elevated Mac to Speaker.
But Panton, the Chief Clown of Disgrace, needed to have a sufficient crew of clowns to form the Panton-PACTless Clown Car. And here we are.
How many more incidents have happened over the last few decades?
I really want to know just how bad it has to get for some actual action to be taken against this man!?
Let’s be real about it too – because if this was me or you (aka the average joe not affiliated with a certain group) – we would have been written off the map long time ago.
Don’t worry about Mac, he and Jay going to recuperate in Honduras while mourning the Queen.
I suspect they will “mourn” even more vigorously than the Brackers on Monday, when they enjoy a spontaneous holiday.
Will the DG be as keen to investigate this one as he’s been to investigate Dr Lee and the weed-non-weed with Doctors Express?
Yeah, didn’t think so…
Police say they haven’t received any complaints..so the forever honwobble getting away again..?
The same police that said there was no widespread looting after Ivan, that have never arrested anyone for widespread frauds on the government and people of the Islands ranging from Gasboy to tourism stipends, and are yet to even investigate the widespread corruption inherent in multiple status grants? They can go screw themselves. What they say and do is no longer of any relevance.
10:10. Our DG will do the right thing as always. He has no control over politicians.
More importantly what are you going to do?
Mr Franz Manderson has more integrity than the collective Members of Parliament. If you are out to sully his name; you had better have evidence.
I’m going against the grain of many that liked your post. I can do so confidently as I know the Man. CNS is the perfect space for trolls like you who can hide behind “Anonymous “. Ill informed coward.
Poor ole Mac these damn women keep troubling him eh! needs some woman repellent just to keep them at Bay. Brad Pitt aint got nuttin you bro.
Mac is a disgrace for the Cayman Islands!. He should be in jail!
Or stripped of everything ha has in the Cayman Islands and deported.
Deported to where? Home grown bobo.
The man is enabled by the idiots that vote for him and the politicians that run scared of him. Cayman is better than this man!
So far Cayman has done nothing to prove they are better than this.
Unfortunately, I’m not sure that we are. The fact that he has so many enablers and has been able to carry on with his behaviour for decades while still clinging to power tells me that Cayman still has a long way to go.
I have thought that for years, but maybe Cayman Isn”t any better. They sure don’t seem to care.
Gets he gets a promotion or otherwise reshuffled in government now ?
Make a deal with the devil …
just a mere bump in the road in Bababushka’s great political clusterf#@% and legacy cant keep a good man down always making every single UK Governor look like Clown!
Taylor was not one of them, he shut down Mac’s Chinese “collaboration” and the UDP govt. backed off . That’s why the claim that followed was settled so quickly, Allegedly the FCO knew too much.
caymanians elect these people so you have no-one else to blame but yourselves.
and to make things worse, you also prevent the most qualified and successful people on island from being elected…
welcome to wonderland.
If you think his electoral base is Caymanian, you are not paying attention.
Geez Panton have you given up on re-election already? I guess 4 years of an inflated salary was all you needed?
That man was already a multi millionaire and comes from one of the wealthiest families in Cayman – his salary is a pittance.
Now, ask does he crave power!?
Chris Saunders will be the next Premier that is what he should be concerned about.
If Panton gets kicked out by them, Chris Saunders , Kenneth, Jay, Seymour, Mac.
will be running Cayman toward becoming Jamaica.
Be afraid Cayman , be very afraid.
Never happen, never never do you hear me! Farkin NEVER.
Well maybe he can do us a favor and step down from leader and appoint someone with cajones? Obviously Saunders excluded.
But did he reject that Huge salary increase the MPs voted to give Themselves?!!
WBW voters voted for him, as there were no better candidate running against him. Mario was not the answer.
Mr. Bush has more than a drinking problem, he also gambles a lot and is in great financial trouble.
If anyone cares for him, please get help for his addictions.
Excuse me – he only had 27 votes more than Mario. That figure indicates something to me. Very correct on the fact that he needs help, but someone can not be helped until they acknowledge they need help and stick to getting treatment for their problem.
Would you be as forgiving if it was your wife/mother/sister/cousin/grand daughter/neice?
Anyone and anything would be a better vote than this disgusting being
Yes,” judge not lest ye be judged” which is part of the Christian bible and the faith of most generational Caymanians.
I just read that instead of the new term Department of Human Resources which used to be called more appropriately Personnel back in the day, it should be called the Department of Human Beings.
In this society too often we forget that we are dealing with human beings and not machines. Despite the complexity of some modern machines, NO machine has yet been created to completely replace the capabilities of a human being.
And NO leader from the time of King David has been without individual flaws and shortcomings. As Christians we need to embrace and support those of us who have backslid and slipped on their journey in this world. Let us give them a hand up to correct their flaws, instead of adding more stigma and contributing to their further isolation and failure. Let us all pray for him and the situation he and his family now faces.
The Premier is correct in waiting on an official report from the authorities rather than relying on rumor and innuendos. Hopefully the police will have collected the evidence including the glass he was drinking from, and a blood sample from him for analysis as it is not beyond the realms of possibility for contaminants to be introduced in his drink etc to suit the plans of some.
Grasping at straws there. Mac’s drink was spiked? You’re delusional!
Lol you’re funny
So that is the defence..
“.Somebody spiked my drink.”
Honestly your honor, I am an upright citizen with an unblemished past.
innocent until proven….innocent
Mac was roofied? Nice one Michael. Can’t wait for this trial.
Yeah, there might have been alcohol in it.
Wayne is afraid of him. Apparently so is everyone else. This is a job for ghostbusters!
When someone’s drink is spiked they normally pass out or become sedated and unresponsive – not run around groping and biting women.
What do you mean there was no one better than him? Even an inanimate carbon rod would have been a better choice.
smh … sigh .. he is still grieving for his loss one and only daughter. Has underlying mental issues and alcoholic problem … I think its time for the PACT government to do something sensible that’s hood for McKeeva as well as the country.
You think after all these years and all these indiscretions that people haven’t tried to help? He’s a disgrace.
Leave his daughter out this ….please!!!
He won’t.
Surely this is a breach of the terms of his suspended sentence no?
Hey Saunders, where’s that tentacular fortitude now?
*testicular
My bad.
Same Saunders that instead of enforcing Cayman priority, begs industry for equal opportunity…..where do you think he’s going to get testicles?
I liked tentacular. Going to start using it.
Fantastic laugh !
Mr. Speaker, have you no decency? I paraphrase words expressed to the much reviled US Senator McCarthy in the 1950s.
These words live on in American politics – probably mean nothing to McKeeva Bush!
Despite his history, he still deserves due process.
Yes. And I am still waiting for it to start following First Cayman Bank.
Bush should be shown the door out of Parliament, and he should be permanently barred from public office. Period. If his misdeeds in this incident were criminal in nature, he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Period.
That said, this thought occurred to me while reading some of the comments here…I wonder how many people here commenting that Bush should go, are supporters of Donald Trump? With all of the controversies, allegations and investigations that swirl around him, Trump still receives a MASSIVE amount of support. So much so, that Trump is again considered the front runner Republican nominee for re-election as President. Umm, shouldn’t Trump be shown the door as well? Just a thought.
Massive backlash to this comment will commence in 3…2…1…
Barred from public. Period.
Lock him up
Inane comment. They should both be in prison.
With Boris and Andrew.
AMEN!!!
This is fake news I didn’t grab the pursey.
If you follow US politics 8:47 you’ll probably figure out that Trump is considered a huge threat to the US democracy except by his base and the Republican candidates who are running on his coattails for their own personal agendas. There’s also the arguement that the Republican Party isn’t really a cohesive party anymore, there’s a lot of shouting and bolstering but they don’t really have a platform that they’re campaigning on and it’s all about individual power and gains, sound familiar? Their proposals are pretty much slandering what the Democratic Party represents and their policy, proposals and that’s about it. With that said Trumps popularity is declining (depending on which poll’s observed) and even within the Republican Party there are a few that don’t think he should run as well as a few electoral candidates removing their Trump endorsements from their banners. So when you say Trump still receives a massive amount of support, yes you’re correct but it’s also subjective. It’s probably no different that Bush receiving his popularity from his base in West Bay with the rest of the majority of the country wanting him ousted but perhaps scaled differently. With that said and based on the evidence (not disinformation) provided, should both be up in front of a court and convicted ? My thoughts, yes absolutely. The problem is that like any system democracy has it flaws, is subject to corruption and what should happen based on common values doesn’t. Lastly, I would think the amount of Trump supporters commenting that Bush should go is minimal, it’s probably the other way round, and whatever you do in the future, ending your post, ‘Massive backlash to this comment will commence in 3…2…1’ – I saw that first and almost didn’t read it and simply for that a 👎
What a surprise…. NOT! On this island of no enforcement of shite driving why not just leave a convicted women beater and possible sexual assault criminal be speaker of the house.
Not my Speaker! His heart is pure and his hands are clean! He wouldn’t try to feel up anyone!
Sig. Walking Scandal
Suspended sentence. Called to prison. Serves his time. Never darkens the doors of the LA again. Fades into obscurity…………and then I woke up and spilt coffee on my pyjamas.
Just the day before:
https://caymannewsservice.com/2022/09/premier-urges-mps-to-follow-queen-elizabeths-example/
And what do we think Wayne will do about it. You guessed, sweet FA!
Wayne is not Alden..watch this space..
The same Wayne who left the PPM because of Mac only to form a government with Mac and then you have Andre and the rest of the WB grand standing on stage recently with this grotesque man. All the people who helped put these men and woman power should be ashamed of themselves. Wayne and Andre mostly.
MCKeeva is still in office because of one man, Kenneth Bryan. He blocked the no confidence motion that would have seen him removed.
Last term. Not this one.
No. Samuel Bulgin and various police officials share some responsibility.
Samuel Bulgin has caused just as much, if not more, detriment to the Cayman Islands than MacKeeva.
It just so happens that Samuel Bulgin does not do stupid socially inappropriate things like MacKeeva in public.
Andre is very quiet. Wayne is very ineffective. Where are our leaders? We have no real leaders in Parliament.
couple of points – this is not a PACT or Progressive problem – this is a WE problem.
1) Wishing that the two women would feel safe enough to come forward to make the complaints.
2) PACT and Progressives come together to expel mckeeva from speaker of the house. PACT then appoint a Progressive member as Speaker. And agree not to bring down the government.
3) DG Franz Manderson launch an investigation and enact CIG Sexual Harassments Policy. This is important.
4) Women of these Islands ALL catch a PINK Flu and refuse to work until action is take. IT is time we stand up
Ok but we can’t do anything about it.
Be careful with 3). there could be a boomerang effect.
Well at least he didn’t beat them up
The man is lost
When is this shit head going to get what he deserves?
When he does this crap to someone’s wife and her husband beats the you know what out of him!
It’s coming. He just hadn’t touched the right one yet!
We can only pray that day comes soon.
I definitely don’t need my husband to do that I will personally do it and more. He just hasn’t messed with the right one. Not all of us are tolerant or afraid!
No it isn’t. Sadly. Men who assault women only pick on the vulnerable. Waitresses, WP holders, employees… His enablers in CIG will look after him.
The BoBo Clown Mafia….rules we don’t need no stinking rules!
Time for this POS to go
That time was 20 years and millions in salary and benefits ago.
7.41am Every cloud has a silver lining, at least he has deflected the trolls who were insulting the Queen, and they can now turn their attention to someone who truly deserves their ire, a home grown wolf in Speaker’s clothing. Speaking of which, I’m surprised he didn’t wear his African robes to the reception.
Wayne, Mr Panton, Mr Premier Sir, let me put this as delicately as I can, wet, limp and f****** useless. What do you mean that ‘ In the current circumstances it is not prudent for me to make further comment at this time’ ? This is a guy that was charged for grabbing a Florida Casino worker, assaulted a bar manager, and now harassed two woman at a Tourism Ministry event to the point of having to be escorted off of the property. Not prudent, ? Do you know what else isn’t prudent, sitting idly by waiting for the police to give you a report before acting on anything. Commission your own f****** investigation and at the very least make a stand for the principles of your ‘code’ let alone the basic life values and life code we’re all expected to adhere to.
This should be easy for Wayne to act on. Didn’t he leave the PPM because they didn’t get rid of this man for his prior attack on the waitress? Now Wayne show us exactly what you stand for, show us if you are man enough to do that which you detested in the PPM’s action. We are all waiting.
He could have just as easily said ‘if the allegations are true, he will be removed from office’.
Do we have to wait for the Governor to do the right thing, and for once exert his reserved powers?.
Governor is not going to use reserve powers.
If no meaningful action comes from this, Mister Premier, you will never have my support again! That man is a cancer in the parleament!
If they work in the Ministry of Tourism, those ladies will likely be victimized by certain political persons if they are brave enough to insist charges are pressed. Both ladies are well known professionals and we can only hope that they will be brave enough to stand firm for justice and do the correct thing.
#worldclass
Hard to go up against an ‘honourable for life’ MP with an OBE.
OBE = Odour of Bad Egg!
You know how they are????
i hope just one of them sees this through for the cause! we will stand firm with her…. Please stand up for this once and for all.
National disgrace.
Why are we hosting a conference in the middle of mourning for the Queen?
Did Kenneth not get the memo?
Well now at least the rest of the Caribbean will now know what our politicians are like, I wonder if the have any Speakers who are chronic alcoholics?.
They cancelled the band but kept the liquor. Dats Cayman.
My bet is that no formal complaint will be made.
Happy now WBW voters who still elected him knowing full well he would do such things again?
They elected him for what he does FOR them, not necessarily what he does TO other people.
Make West Bay Great Again!
this man will not learn until he is in prison
Old dog, new tricks? The man has had immunity for decades. If he hasn’t learned now, he never will.
Disgusting man, disgusting levels of myopia in a country that believes it has moved on from the dark days of corruption and self-interest.
Rid yourselves of this pernicious blight on your country, rid yourselves of those who believe they are above the law, and rid yourselves of politicians who have absolutely no moral compass, or anywhere near what could be recognised as public duty.
Not to mention the shocking level of incompetence.
Mac is who he is but you have to wonder about the people who keep electing him.
They want free fridge or dishwasher that why they vote Mac.
He also granted his voters status, and then removed the requirement they be a BOTC, just so they could vote for him. State sponsored corruption. An assault on the vey principles of good governance and democracy. Disgusting.
And the Governor grins, and the Commissioner proclaims the crime situation is stable. The Attorney General is busy getting new business cards that change QC to KC, and other such important affairs of office.
We are lost.
They are beholding to him because ” ‘im a good man an ‘im gave mi and mi ‘ole fahmelay Caymanian Status, fi ‘tay ah ‘ere Cayman”. They love him and he loves that nation of ppl…that’s why his favourite song is “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley. Mac keeps doing disgusting, disgraceful acts and he needs Jesus! Let’s pray for him to be punished correctly then we protest with an all-female sick-out day and stand in front of the GAB & LA to show how sick and fed up we are with this kind of behaviour and handling of the perp!!!!
Hope the two victims have a solid case and brings the coup de grace that sends this degenerate out of politics for good.
Wasn’t resignation if something similar happened in the future part of his sweetheart deal with the courts on his last visit?
Sh*t’s about to get real Cayman.
Why the F do we constantly have to witness this f++kry over and over by our F**King LEADERS!!!
Well we definitely aren’t getting the best candidates….even when we get a good one they don’t stay as they can’t accomplish anything the old boys club don’t want. How bout starting a new party Winston?
What members of the PACT government will have the intestinal fortitude to do the right thing and demand that THEIR premier remove this nemesis. And if Wayne fails to, what members will consider vacating their seats on the government bench and walking across the aisle in protest. Isaac?, Andre?, Kathy?, Heather?, Sabrina? Will either of you have the cojones to take a stand against this type of behavior??? The country demands to hear you on this. Failing to do anything less will be seen as supporting a drunken MP and this will lead to the end of any chances you had of being re-elected. It is known that Saunders, Bryan, Jay, John-John and JuJu won’t leave from under Macs armpit so their lack of action will be expected.
and give up all his unsupervised Loop writing?
Pushing his and Saunders agenda on Loop every week.
JuJu goes with the flow.
Keep dreaming as nothing will never happen about it, he is “untouchable”!
Sounds disturbingly similar to the US and tRUMP
When pigs fly, my dear. Wayne and anyone else will do nothing. I am including the whole Cayman Islands populace that should protest against this national disgrace to show how serious we are about Women’s rights, the Code of Conduct for MP and the sexual harassment by one in “power”. I feel so defeated as a Caymanian when I see my people sit by idly and just chat. He would have been gone anywhere else in the world from the first incident in Florida, BUT NO, not here in Cayman where all ungodliness and disrespect are acceptable to those in authority and the people! I hope I don’t hear anything more from anyone but this other than they are joining the protest to stand for action taken against the “Speaker of the House”!!!!