Bush charged with rape in historic allegation

(CNS): McKeeva Bush MP (WBW), a former speaker of the House and a former premier of the Cayman Islands, has been charged with rape. Police have been investigating at least one historic allegation against him in relation to sexual offences for more than six months. Bush was charged early Wednesday and appeared in court via Zoom on charges of both rape and indecent assault in relation to a complaint dating back to 2000.

Once again, the press was not informed that charges would be laid again against Bush today or his imminent appearance in court via video link until after the fact.

The veteran politician is already facing charges of sexual assault against two civil servants after he allegedly groped the women at an official event last September. He pleaded not guilty to those charges in April and is due to stand trial in front of a jury in September.

Bush is currently the Father of the House of Parliament, having served as a West Bay representative for almost four decades. Politically astute and a popular representative in his district, he remains a controversial figure who has been dogged by allegations of corruption and sexual offences throughout the latter part of his career. But despite efforts by the authorities to prosecute him for abuse of office, until recently he had never been convicted of any crimes.

That all changed when he pleaded guilty to assaulting the manager of a Seven Mile Beach bar in 2020 in a drunken attack. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail, suspended for two years, though an evening house curfew was imposed for the duration as well as a $700 fine.

However, since making formal admissions in court, Bush has continued to deny any wrongdoing, blaming his victim and claiming on numerous occasions that he was merely defending himself.

Bush recently claimed he would not be seeking office at the next election and was giving up his seat for the next generation of politicians.

Efforts to contact Bush or his legal team for comment were unsuccessful. However, on Wednesday afternoon, Bush handed a defiant written statement to the Cayman Compass claiming that the charges were politically motivated. See the statement below: