McKeeva Bush

William McKeeva Bush, West Bay West (incumbent)
Party or group affiliations in the election period have not yet been announced.

Biography:

Bush (70) is the longest-serving member of parliament (the “Father of the House”), having represented the district of West Bay continuously since 1984. In November 2001, he was a founding member and leader of the United Democratic Party, which formed in order to stage a political coup that ousted the government of Kurt Tibbetts.

Bush served on Executive Councils (renamed “Cabinet” in 2003) as Minister for Health and Human Services, 1992-1994; Minister for Community Development, Sports, Women’s and Youth Affairs and Culture, 1994-1997; Minister for Tourism, Environment and Transport, 2000-2001; and as Leader of Government Business and Minister for Tourism, Environment, Development and Commerce, 2001-2005.

Bush was the first premier of the Cayman Islands, as well as Minister of Finance, Tourism and Development from 2009 to 2012. However, he was ousted in December 2012 following his arrest (see below) and the UDP disintegrated.

In 2013, Bush formed a new party, the Cayman Democratic Party, to contest the elections that year. The CDP lost, and from 2013 to 2017, he was leader of the opposition for the second time, having previously held the position between 2005 and 2009.

Despite losing the 2017 elections, as CDP leader, Bush signed a deal with his long-time nemesis, then-PPM leader Alden McLaughlin, joining their parties in a coalition. McLaughlin remained as premier while Bush was given the post of speaker of the House.

In February 2021, after Bush pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman, Premier Alden McLaughlin called an early general election so that the PPM could avoid having to publicly support or condemn him. Bush suffered no political consequences and the elections took place on 14 April.

In the horse-trading that followed, Bush joined the PACT group of independents to form a government. As part of the deal, he was made speaker again until another scandal forced him to resign in October 2022.

Bush MP was awarded an OBE in 1997, but this was revoked in 2023.

Education: Bush attended Cayman Islands Government primary and secondary school until he dropped out of high school. He was awarded an honorary master’s degree in humanities from the International College of the Cayman Islands.

Court cases and fallout:

• On 11 December 2012, Bush was arrested over allegations of misuse of a government credit card and abuse of office regarding his involvement with a consignment of dynamite, which was imported by Midland Acres, a local quarry and property business based in Bodden Town, without the correct permits and licences. He was eventually found not guilty of all charges by a jury.
  
  However, after his arrest, his former Cabinet colleagues supported a no-confidence motion filed by the opposition in the Legislative Assembly, which resulted in the downfall of the UDP administration. The PPM, then in opposition, agreed to support the remaining Cabinet members in a minority government by offering to ensure that there would be a quorum in the Legislative Assembly. The governor agreed to appoint then-deputy premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly as the new premier to head the government until the general election on 22 May 2013.
  
  
• In April 2020, Bush was charged with three counts of common assault and one count of disorderly conduct under the liquor licensing law in connection with a well-documented violent incident at a Seven Mile Beach bar, where he physically assaulted the bar manager at the Coral Beach bar on the night of 21 February. Bush pleaded guilty to assault on 3 December 2020 and was sentenced to serve a 60-day curfew in the evenings between 6pm and 6am, beginning 21 December 2020. He suffered no further consequences. See all statements following the alleged assault in the CNS Library.
  
  
• In 2024, Bush, standing trial for indecent assault of two female civil servants, was discharged by the court after the judge presiding over the case against him stayed the proceedings. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has filed an appeal to pursue a retrial, which the appeal court will hear in May, after the elections.
  
  However, in October 2022, after he was charged, Bush was pressured by colleagues in parliament to resign as speaker.
  
  
• In July 2024, Bush was found not guilty in a historic rape case.

Other controversies:

• 1997: Bush was a non-executive director of Qatar-based Gulf Union Bank when it was investigated for fraud. The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority revoked its licence and wound up its local subsidiary, Cayman First Bank, which had an estimated 3,000 local accounts. In the fallout, Bush resigned from ExCo.
• 2003: As leader of government business, he oversaw the mass status grants that were given to more than 3,370 people through a haphazard selection process.
• 2004: He faxed a letter to Stan Thomas. The content of the letter later became the subject of an RCIPS investigation, and Bush’s actions in the matter were questioned by colleagues in the House.
• 2009: He created the controversial Nation Building Fund.
• 2009: After the UDP came into power, duty payments by the developer of the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, which had been paid under the PPM administration, stopped. Michael Ryan’s various companies involved in the resort’s development had been given duty waivers of around $10 million, which became due when the hotel opened and began operations. $6 million was never paid.
• 2010: He sought a deal with a state-run Chinese company to build a cruise port, the details of which were later leaked.
• 2012: Bush negotiated, then dropped, a deal to refinance the national debt through New York-based finance firm Cohen & Company Capital Markets LLC.
• 2013: He denied buying a $1M PhD. See Is McKeeva Bush a ‘doctor’?
• 2013: As premier, he reneged on a deal with US-based waste-management firm Wheelabrator to start sorting out the dump, for which the CIG paid damages.
• 2017: He was arrested for allegedly groping a waitress in Florida. He pled not guilty to the charges, saying it was a case of “cultural misunderstanding”. The casino decided not to pursue charges.

Sources:
Cayman Islands Parliament
Cayman News Service
Cayman Compass

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