A high-profile corruption trial centered on public infrastructure contracts in The Bahamas took another pivotal turn this week, as the star prosecution witness pushed back against aggressive defense questioning while standing by her agreement to cooperate with authorities. The case, which has gripped local political circles since opening in late 2023, involves Adrian Gibson, a Long Island Member of Parliament and former executive chairman of the country’s Water and Sewerage Corporation, who stands accused of misconduct tied to contract awards during his tenure at the state-owned utility. Alexsndria Mackey, Gibson’s one-time romantic partner and former business associate, took the stand in the Supreme Court on Tuesday to face cross-examination from Damian Gomez, KC, lead defense counsel for Gibson.
Under hours of pointed questioning, Mackey reaffirmed her commitment to testifying truthfully, noting that her grant of immunity from prosecution is explicitly conditional on her full and honest cooperation with the investigation. She acknowledged that the serious criminal charges she originally faced, which carry severe legal penalties, were a major factor in her decision to negotiate a plea deal, but pushed back against defense claims that she fabricated testimony solely to avoid prison time. “I knew I needed to tell the truth,” Mackey told the court, adding that even with the threat of potential incarceration hanging over her, her decision to accept the deal was rooted in a requirement to disclose everything she knew about the business arrangements tied to the contracts.
Mackey detailed the timeline of her decision to cooperate, explaining she moved forward with the immunity agreement shortly after co-defendant Tanya Demeritte was arrested and returned to The Bahamas. At that time, Mackey said, she learned she was also at risk of arrest, prompting her to move forward with negotiations through her legal representation. She flatly denied a defense claim that former Assistant Commissioner of Police Deleveaux pressured her to testify by threatening deportation or legal action against her parents, dismissing the assertion outright.
Much of Tuesday’s cross-examination centered on the corporate structure of two firms tied to the case — Elite Maintenance and Oak Bay Limited. Mackey has maintained that she, Gibson, and Demeritte were the true beneficial owners of the companies, which won contracts from the Water and Sewerage Corporation during Gibson’s tenure. She admitted that the beneficial owners were never officially registered with authorities, and that bank documents listed Jerome Missick and Joan Knowles, two of Gibson’s co-defendants in the trial, as placeholder owners to conceal the identities of the true shareholders. When challenged by Gomez over whether she is hiding key corporate records and lying about having already turned relevant documents over to Gibson, Mackey denied the allegations.
On one point of discrepancy, Gomez called into question Mackey’s recent claim that key documents were sent to Grand Bahama, noting she had not raised that detail in earlier police interviews. Mackey acknowledged that she did not mention specific trust documents during her initial interview with law enforcement, and could not recall when she first brought up the detail, but stood by her core account of the companies’ ownership structure. She confirmed she received payments from Oak Bay Limited, though she could not recall the full total of disbursements. She also told the court that Gibson outlined the roles of director nominees when the companies were first formed, though she acknowledged she never directly heard Gibson give instructions to placeholder owner Joan Knowles, confirming she followed his direction on all corporate matters when the pair were in a relationship.
Additional details that emerged during the cross-examination included confirmation that attorney David Cash negotiated the immunity deal for Mackey and Demeritte, and that Mackey’s mother paid the $10,000 fine required under Demeritte’s plea agreement. Gibson is one of five defendants on trial over the contract awards, alongside former Water and Sewerage Corporation general manager Donaldson Jr, Joan Knowles, Peaches Farquharson, and Jerome Missick. The trial, which began in November 2023, is being presided over by Senior Justice Cheryl Grant Thompson, and is expected to continue through coming weeks as more evidence is presented and witnesses testify.