The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Free National Movement Senator John Bostwick II told reporters yesterday that he is not done with frontline politics and called on like-minded individuals to join him in building the country into a better place.

In making the call for a change in the political status quo, the 44-year-old lawyer alluded to the potential formation of a new political faction after confirming payment of a $15,000 fine imposed by a magistrate concerning his conviction for possession of ten live rounds of .22 ammunition.

The bullets were found in his luggage during a security screening in May 2014 at the Grand Bahama International Airport. He has since appealed the conviction.

In reacting to the two-year ordeal of being arraigned, tried, convicted and sentenced, Mr Bostwick said: “There’s very much more to come from here.”

“It’s the start of something for me. As I said yesterday (Monday), I came to frontline politics with a purpose, that purpose to build The Bahamas and make it a better place. That effort is renewed in me because I can see that there’s very much we have to do and we have to do it now.”

Article 48 (1) (f) of the Constitution notes that a person cannot be elected as a member of the House of Assembly who “is under sentence of death imposed on him by a court in The Bahamas, or is serving a sentence of imprisonment (by whatever name called) exceeding 12 months imposed on him by such a court or substituted by competent authority for some other sentence imposed on him by such a court, or is under such a sentence of imprisonment the execution of which has been suspended.”

Under existing law, minor criminal offences remain on a person’s record for seven years from the date of conviction.

If the appellate court squashes Bostwick’s conviction, he may be eligible to run for public office in the future.

“I always talk about the born-free generation and so I’m calling out to the born-free generation to go and get yourselves registered. We have work to do.”

When asked by The Tribune if he was suggesting a change in leadership of the country, he said: “Well definitely we need new blood at the top.”

“That’s a definite. We need those of us born-free Bahamians to lead The Bahamas. The born-free generation needs to come to the front,” he stressed.

When asked if he was suggesting the formation of another political party, the former senator said: “Again, I can’t speak to that quite yet. As you know (and) as I always say I’m a child of the FNM. You wouldn’t want to necessarily have to tear things down but sometimes you have to clear the ground to build a new edifice, you know? So there’s much thinking that could be done.”

Bostwick ran unsuccessfully as the FNM’s candidate for Bain’s and Grant’s Town in the 2012 general election.

His statements came a day after FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis broke his silence on a rift within his party and released a statement that said that the “personal comments” voiced by his colleagues over the past few days “would have better served our cause” if shared internally.

A week ago, FNM Senator Lanisha Rolle set off a firestorm of controversy after she accused Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner and other FNM MPs of being “jealous” of Dr Minnis.

Mrs Rolle also said the Bahamian public would never vote for Mrs Butler-Turner as prime minister over Perry Christie and suggested that she “humble” herself before the FNM leader.

The senator’s remarks drew rebuke from several FNMs, including Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn and former Minister of State for the Environment Phenton Neymour. However some in the FNM, including founding father Maurice Moore and Central and South Abaco MP Edison Key, rallied around Mrs Rolle and her statements. The issue has put the strained relations in the FNM back in the national spotlight.

Dr Minnis, however, said these “temporary family exchanges will pass”.