Archdeacon Keith Cartwright implored the prime minister and leader of the opposition to work together against crime during his sermon at the state-recognized funeral service for former Deputy House Speaker and Member of Parliament (MP) for Tall Pines Donald Lamond Saunders.

Mr Saunders was murdered during a robbery attempt at Rags Bar in Gambier Village last month.

“Too many people put party over country, too many party people – that can’t be right. More than ever before we need maturity in national life. We’ve got to work together,” Mr Cartwright said.

“We’ve got to lay aside these for the greater good, people. We do not have only good FNMs, there are plenty good PLPs. Yes, there are plenty bad FNMS and there are plenty bad PLPs.”

He said “far too many” persons get into politics for the wrong reasons, stating that those who do not seek to give true service to “get out and stay out”.

“We do not need greedy and crooked men and women at the helm of our nation,” the archdeacon said during the service held at St. Agnes Anglican Church on Baillou Hill Road.

Mr Cartwright said that despite the murderer’s having “ripped” the silver cross chain neckless off the late Saunders which he always wore in dedication to his faith, “they cannot rip it from his heart”.

He underlined the self-sacrificing nature of Mr Saunders in his dedication to his community, church, and country, which included his involvement with his family in the church.

“Look at our last national census – go find it out. The only demographic that is growing in our population are those who say that they are not part of any church. Somethings got to be wrong with this,” Mr Cartwright said.

“Don was a truly family man. He loved his wife, he loved his children, he loved his mother, he loved his sister, he loved his brothers, he would do anything for them. Family meant the world to Don. He brought – he didn’t send the family to church, he got his family involved in all aspects of the community, he took his responsibilities seriously.”

Mr Cartwright went on to condemn the crime issue in the country, opining that the answer is for Bahamians returning to focusing on home and family life.

“These killers are someone’s sons, they belong to some ma out there, to some pa out there, they are someone’s grandson or granddaughter. Look at their faces, church. They are our children, and the sum total of the high crime rate is the very foundation of our nation is cracking. It has crumbled because home and family life is no more. No examples in the home, no fathers present, no mothers now event present, no discipline in the home. Children doing as they like as they feel like. There’s no guidance, no teaching of right and wrong,” he said.

“And then we holler for the government, we holler for the police, we holler for the defence force, but it is us. Look at yourself in the mirror. Where are your children? Where are your grandchildren? There’s no accountability.”

Prime Minister Philip Davis recalled being a political mentor to Mr Saunders, noting the bond the two shared that “went beyond our time in Parliament” as both were members of St. Christopher’s Church.

Mr Davis said he witnessed the former Tall Pines MP's faith, conviction, and humility firsthand through Mr Saunders’ involvement in the church from an early age from being an alter boy to a founding member of the Anglican Church Men group at the church.

“I watched him grow week by week, year by year as he flourished into the leader he would ultimately become,” Mr Davis said.

“Although I would much prefer it he liked the color yellow a bit more than he liked the color red, it was obvious that he had enormous potential as a politician and as a leader among men. He was an obvious asset to any political organization he chose to join and I fully expected to see him achieve great success.”

Mr Davis condemned the ongoing “pointless and senseless violence” in the country that his administration has made a mandated effort to quell as he lamented how the nation’s crime issue “can so suddenly and unexpectedly steal away our best and brightest” and being too commonplace, calling for Bahamians to come together to handle the issue.

Leader of the Opposition and Free National Movement (FNM) Michael Pintard described Mr Saunders as a patriot and a nationalist who, despite being a member of the FNM, loved all Bahamians no matter which political persuasion and sought to look past political lines in favor of the overall benefit of The Bahamas.

Mr Pintard gave condolences to the family of the late Don Saunders, mentioning a conversation he had with Don’s twin brother Dion where the sibling underlined his late brother’s love for his country.

Mr Pintard echoed the prime minister's sentiments on the crime issue and the duty of Bahamians to come together to address the matter.

“The village did produce a Don Saunders, but this village also produced the shooter, the murderer of Don Saunders," Mr Pinder said.

"How do we fix those things that produce so many young men like the one that killed Don and so many other talented Bahamians? We can’t do it alone, so we should be turning as a nation to each other instead of on each other,” Mr Pintard said.