NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – Former prime minister, Dr. Hubert Minnis, has dismissed the alleged threat against the life of his predecessor, Prime Minister Phillip Davis, telling reporters that the reaction was an “overkill.
“I’ve always carried on with my normal life, but the people threaten this Prime Minister. He brought out the entire police force almost. I mean, what is there to fear? What is there to fear? I do not condone violence; I do not support violence. I feel that prime ministers should be protected, all right. But I thought it was overkill,” said Minnis, who served as head of government from May 2017 to September 16, 2021.
Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander last weekend announced that an investigation had been launched to determine the origin of the death threats against Prime Minister Davis.
He told a news conference that two anonymous phone calls threatened the Prime Minister’s life.
“Both calls came in, one right after the other, about 15 minutes apart, threatening to kill the nation’s leader,” the Commissioner said, adding that officers are following significant leads and the prime minister remains in “good spirits.
“We, as Bahamians, it shouldn’t happen. When you’re talking about threatening the nation’s leader and we as Bahamians, how we got to this level in threatening individuals, and you can go beyond the prime minister and individuals, and we take this very seriously,” he added.
Press secretary, Clint Wilson, said additional security measures had been put in place to ensure the safety of Prime Minister Davis.
But Minnis, a medical doctor, told reporters that he was threatened on multiple occasions when he was in office. He also said that every former prime minister at some point had been threatened. “When I was in the chair, I was threatened multiple times. And, of course, I didn’t report it to my aides until (the) last minute, after several expressions of wanting to kill me. And they said I needed to take it more seriously. And then they subsequently reported to (the) Commissioner of Police.
“But I’m sure every Prime Minister would have been threatened at some point. I’ve never seen any taken security to this extent. Certainly, I have not when I’ve been threatened,” Minnis said, adding if Prime Minister Davis no longer feels safe, then that means it is time to go.
“I believe that when a Prime Minister feels that he can no longer, he no longer feels safe among his people. That’s time to go.”
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