The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell again refused to say yesterday whether former senior immigration officer Norman Bastian is receiving retirement benefits, as Long Island MP Dr Andre Rollins questioned whether taxpayers will be forced to pay both damages to Claudia Edwards Bethel’s estate and a pension to the man who raped and unlawfully detained her.

The clash came during the House of Assembly’s budget debate, where Dr Rollins highlighted that the government spent $7.9m on legal settlements and judgments in the 2024/2025 fiscal year while allocating $4.4m for such payments in the current budget.

Dr Rollins raised the issue days after the Privy Council ruled that the state is vicariously liable for Edwards Bethel’s unlawful detention and rape by Bastian.

Damages have not yet been assessed, but Dr Rollins said they are expected to be significant.

He questioned whether Bahamian taxpayers would effectively pay twice, once through damages awarded against the government and again through retirement benefits paid to Bastian.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the government is legally responsible for the conduct of its employees and must satisfy court judgments. He said the allocation covers a range of liabilities, including legal settlements and disputes over matters such as land acquisitions.

Dr Rollins said he accepted that principle, but argued that it did not answer whether Bastian was being allowed to enjoy the same retirement benefits as public officers in good standing despite committing “heinous acts” against a woman who did not deserve such treatment.

Mr Mitchell objected to the questioning, saying there are procedures for making allegations against people and suggested Dr Rollins examine the timeline surrounding Bastian’s retirement and the relevant law.

“If you're going to make imputations against some officer, there's a procedure for doing that,” he said. “Had this procedure been followed, we would have come armed with all of this ammunition that you want us to use against this individuall.”

He added that Dr Rollins should “check the timelines, check the law”.

Dr Rollins pressed the issue again.

“Did this individual, who was retired in the public interest, was he retired with full benefits?” he said.

Mr Mitchell again declined to answer directly.

“I'm saying I'm not doing your homework for you, I'm not doing it,” he said. “The law says what it is, and once you understand the law, it'll follow from that what the facts are.”

Mr Mitchell also declined to answer similar questions earlier this week when he issued an “unreserved” apology to Edwards Bethel’s family and estate after the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ruled against the government.

The case will return to a lower court for damages to be assessed.

At the time, Mr Mitchell said the government did not support or condone Bastian’s conduct. He also disclosed that Bastian had been retired from the public service in the public interest.

Edwards Bethel, a Jamaican woman who had been married to a Bahamian citizen since 2010, was arrested during a police raid at the Twilight Bar on December 13, 2014, along with several other Jamaican women.

According to court findings, Bastian deceived his superiors into releasing Edwards Bethel into his custody by falsely saying that a female immigration officer would accompany them.

Instead, he drove her around New Providence before taking her to his home, where he raped her, unlawfully detained her overnight, sexually assaulted her and raped her again the following morning.

Edwards Bethel died at Princess Margaret Hospital in May 2021, one day after giving birth to her fourth child, Emmanuel. She was 35.