标签： Bahamas

Longtime Bahamian community advocate Gene “Sparky” Fountain has drawn renewed attention to the systemic failures plaguing the country’s public healthcare system through a posthumously released video recorded shortly before his death. In the footage, Fountain detailed a harrowing 11-hour wait for care at Nassau’s Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), shedding light on both understaffing crises and deep financial inequities that leave low-income residents with life-threateningly limited care options.

Fountain recounts in the video that neighbors had to step in to transport him to the facility when an ambulance failed to arrive in time. With no walk-in clinics open for urgent care, the activist had no alternative but to turn to PMH, the island nation’s main public hospital. His neighbors arranged bedding for him in the back of a private van, secured his home and pets, and got him to the emergency department before any emergency medical personnel could respond.

By his account, the ordeal stretched from 8 p.m. one evening to 7 a.m. the next, and he left the hospital without ever seeing a treating physician, despite completing required intake tests including blood work, blood pressure screenings, and a glucose test. Fountain explained that the emergency department was operating with only three doctors on duty to handle a full load of patients, many of whom were facing urgent medical and family emergencies. He described a chaotic scene filled with patients groaning in unmanaged pain, and one incident where blood was left spilled across the facility’s floors.

While he acknowledged that the overstretched clinical team was working to the best of their abilities, he compared their frantic pace to “chickens without heads.” When he left the facility, he was still in severe pain and had only been able to grab a small change of clothes before rushing out.

Beyond the immediate understaffing crisis at PMH, Fountain used his final public message to call out stark inequities in access to care between wealthy Bahamians and low-income residents. He noted that politicians and affluent residents can afford to seek specialized private treatment in destinations like the United States, Germany, and the Cayman Islands, while poor Bahamians have nowhere else to turn for care. He explained that he could not afford care at private facilities like Doctors’ Hospital or the upscale Lyford Cay medical center, and even public government clinics require upfront payment that many working-class residents cannot afford. He described PMH, the only option for low-income people, as a deeply “scary place” for patients in crisis.

Following confirmation of Fountain’s death, the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) was contacted by The Tribune for a formal response to the activist’s claims. While the PHA initially stated it would issue a public statement, no comment had been released by the time this report went to press.

Across the political spectrum, Bahamian leaders have paid tribute to Fountain, who was a well-known voice in national public discourse through his frequent calls into local radio talk shows. Michael Pintard, leader of the opposition Free National Movement, remembered Fountain as a relentless advocate for ordinary and low-income Bahamians who never shied away from speaking plainly about systemic issues.

Pintard noted that while the two did not always align politically, he always respected Fountain’s candor and fair-mindedness, saying “He had a way with words, and a gift for saying it plain. You always knew exactly where he stood.” Pintard emphasized that Fountain’s willingness to speak out on behalf of marginalized communities has strengthened Bahamian democracy, adding: “Our democracy is stronger because of people who care enough to speak up, who stay informed, and who demand more from those who serve.”

Pintard also shared a personal connection to Fountain, noting the two shared a passion for agriculture. When Pintard served as a government minister, he was honored to help Fountain access public land for his agricultural work, he said.

For years, Anna Thompson has shouldered the daily routine of physically lifting her 10-year-old daughter to and from classes, and supporting her through every movement across school grounds. That routine changed forever on a memorable school assembly day, when a long-held wish for independence became a reality for Naveah Strachan, a Columbus Primary School student born with osteogenesis imperfecta — more commonly known as brittle bone disease, a genetic condition that leaves bones extremely fragile and prevents Naveah from walking on her own. On that day, Naveah navigated her new motorized wheelchair independently for the first time, bringing both mother and daughter to tears of overwhelming joy.

As Naveah guided the chair alongside her mother, her feet resting easily on the device’s built-in pedals, both mother and daughter struggled to hold back happy tears. Ms. Thompson gently wiped the tears streaming down her daughter’s face, as the young student took in the milestone of moving through space on her own power for the first time in her life.

Naveah has dreamed of independent mobility for as long as her mother can remember. When Naveah was born, doctors confirmed she would never be able to walk, a reality that did not dim the young girl’s hope. “As she grew older, she would always say, ‘Lord, I wish one day I could walk,’” Ms. Thompson shared. “I always encouraged her that God would let her walk one day. I never minded lifting her every day; I never took our time together for granted. She’s my miracle baby.”

Osteogenesis imperfecta refers to a group of genetic conditions that cause excessive bone fragility, leading to frequent fractures that can occur with little to no obvious trauma. For Naveah’s entire schooling career, the daily trip to and from campus fell entirely to Ms. Thompson, who carried her daughter every morning and afternoon. During school hours, teachers had to manually push Naveah in a basic manual wheelchair to get between classes and activities — a barrier that left many school events, including annual Sports Day, out of reach for the young student.

That barrier was removed this week, when the Bahamas Educators Managerial Union (BEMU) donated the custom motorized wheelchair to Naveah during a school-wide assembly. The union’s leadership said the donation was intended to remove daily mobility barriers and make Naveah’s entire learning experience more accessible and comfortable.

BEMU President Stephen McPhee said the motorized chair will not only simplify Naveah’s daily commute home after school, it will also open the door to her joining activities she has never been able to participate in before, including the school’s upcoming Sports Day. McPhee himself became emotional as he spoke about Naveah’s story, tearing up as he recalled first learning about her daily struggle and the assistance she needed to navigate campus independently.

As Naveah tested out her new wheelchair, her classmates erupted in cheers, and the 10-year-old waved back to her supportive peer group while her mother held her close.

Gregory Cash, a guidance counsellor at Columbus Primary who also relies on a motorized wheelchair for daily mobility, said he felt extraordinary joy watching Naveah receive the device that has transformed his own life. With characteristic warmth, he even joked, “One day I hope we can have a racing competition together.” Beyond the celebration of Naveah’s milestone, Cash used the moment to emphasize a critical, broader point: the urgent need for greater inclusion in national education systems. He stressed that all people with disabilities deserve equal access to opportunities, and the support to pursue their dreams no matter what field they choose to enter.

A grieving Bahamian family is demanding accountability and a full investigation after a diabetic inmate with chronic pre-existing conditions died less than three months after being ordered back to correctional custody, with relatives claiming prison officials failed to deliver the court-guaranteed medical care they promised to provide.

Thomas Jean-Baptiste, a 40-something former boat captain who had a history of life-threatening blood clots and lived with morbid obesity alongside his chronic diabetes, passed away on October 4 following a two-week stay at Princess Margaret Hospital. His death came just months after the Bahamas Court of Appeal revoked his medical bail in July, ordering him to complete the remainder of his combined sentences for illegal weapons possession charges.

The legal case stretches back to April 2023, when police pulled Jean-Baptiste over during a routine traffic stop and discovered an unlicensed firearm and five rounds of ammunition in his vehicle. He was convicted on those charges in November 2025, and granted medical bail that December to manage his complex health conditions outside of prison walls. His appeal against the length of his custodial sentence reached the Court of Appeal in July this year, where his legal team argued his severe health issues made a continued prison sentence unsafe and unjustified.

During the appeal hearing, Jean-Baptiste’s medical expert, consultant urologist Dr Robin Roberts, issued a stark warning to the court: Jean-Baptiste required lifelong anticoagulant medication to keep his life-threatening conditions under control. Roberts noted that overcrowded, unsanitary prison conditions dramatically increased his risk of developing serious infections, including the often-fatal Fournier’s gangrene, and raised alarms that he faced a high chance of another life-ending pulmonary embolism behind bars.

Despite this warning, the Court of Appeal sided with the assessment of the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services’ in-house physician, Dr Scavella, who testified that the institution was fully capable of managing Jean-Baptiste’s chronic conditions. Scavella further stated that Jean-Baptiste could be transferred to the public Princess Margaret Hospital for specialized care if any medical emergency arose, and recommended specific accommodations including an infirmary bed, access to daily movement, and consistent access to bathing and toilet facilities. The court ultimately ruled that the seriousness of Jean-Baptiste’s weapons offenses outweighed his medical needs, though it noted he could apply for the Prerogative of Mercy if the prison system was later unable to meet his care requirements.

Now, Jean-Baptiste’s sister Alicia Jean Baptiste is speaking out, saying correctional officials completely ignored the court’s requirements and left her brother to suffer and die from actionable medical neglect. “He was sick going back, but he wasn’t sick enough to die,” she told The Tribune in an exclusive interview. When asked if prison staff did everything reasonably possible to protect her brother’s life, she responded plainly: “Absolutely not, they made no efforts, period. The court order did not matter. It did not stand. They took no care, no concern.”

Ms Jean Baptiste laid out a series of damning allegations against the department, saying Jean-Baptiste was supposed to be housed in the prison infirmary per medical recommendations, but instead spent more than a month in the facility’s intake unit before being moved to a general population cell block far from medical care. She claims that cell block had no working air conditioning, suffered frequent prolonged power outages, and that correctional staff failed to consistently administer the expensive medication Jean-Baptiste had purchased himself before returning to custody. One of his daily medications alone cost nearly $300, she noted, a supply he brought with him to prison that staff never properly distributed.

She also detailed consistent complaints from her brother about the poor quality of prison food, saying he often ate barely anything and relied only on meals his relatives sent in for him. His condition began to decline rapidly after he first developed severe leg pain, which was eventually diagnosed as new blood clotting. Ms Jean Baptiste says even after that diagnosis, hospital staff sent him back to prison within 24 hours, despite his unstable condition.

Jean-Baptiste repeatedly told family that prison staff were not checking on him as his health worsened, though the family initially wrote off his comments as general frustration with prison life rather than a cry for emergency medical help. He was eventually rushed back to hospital after his condition collapsed, but correctional officials did not notify his family immediately of the medical emergency.

By the time Jean-Baptiste’s mother traveled to New Providence to visit him, his condition had deteriorated irreversibly. Ms Jean Baptiste says after two separate medical events left him unable to speak and paralyzed on one side of his body, hospital officials discussed discharging him back to prison – but even then, correctional staff raised concerns about moving him to the second-floor infirmary due to his size. The news of a potential return to prison left Jean-Baptiste distraught, his sister says, and he cried at the prospect of going back to the conditions that had already left him dying.

The family began preparing legal action to secure his compassionate release once more, but Jean-Baptiste died before they could file the necessary court documents. “I feel like the neglect began from the courthouse,” Ms Jean Baptiste said. “Everybody know the prison within itself is not a humane place to be. It’s not a clean place to be.”

She added that Jean-Baptiste’s death has left his three children and the entire extended family shattered, remembering him as an outgoing, well-known member of the local community through his work as a boat captain. She is pushing back against the culture of neglect that she says allows poor care for incarcerated people, saying: “They don’t have to provide the bare minimum just because they’re inmates, or be neglectful just because they’re inmates. Why was he being neglected? Why was he not being provided with the medications that he took for himself to stay in good health, as his body depended on those medications every day?”

Ms Jean Baptiste is calling for a full independent investigation into her brother’s treatment and for the officials responsible to be held accountable, though she said the family has not yet made a final decision on whether to pursue civil legal action against the correctional department.

The quiet of a Friday night in New Providence was shattered by two fatal shooting incidents that unfolded just hours apart, leaving two local men dead and law enforcement launching a double homicide investigation, according to local police officials.

The first violent incident unfolded shortly before 9 p.m., when emergency dispatchers received an urgent report of a shooting on Old Cedar Way, a residential side street connected to Blue Hill Road. According to initial witness accounts, three men wearing face coverings approached the 37-year-old victim’s home and fired multiple rounds through an eastern-facing window, striking the man inside before making their escape in an unknown direction.

Before responding police officers could arrive at the scene, local residents moved the injured man to a private vehicle and rushed him to a nearby hospital for emergency care. Detectives assigned to the case arrived at the medical facility to begin their on-site investigation, where clinical staff told them the victim was being prepped for emergency surgery. Tragically, just before 11 p.m., investigators received word that the 37-year-old had succumbed to his gunshot wounds.

Roughly 30 minutes after the first victim was declared dead, a second homicide unfolded in another part of the island, this time detected by the ShotSpotter gunfire tracking system near the intersection of Flint and Comfort Streets just after 11:30 p.m.

Police say the 25-year-old victim was in the area when a vehicle of unknown make and model, painted a dark color, pulled up and the occupants inside opened fire directly toward him. The wounded man attempted to flee the attack by running north along Comfort Street, but he collapsed on the western curb before he could get to safety.

By the time uniformed officers arrived at the scene, the attackers had already fled the area. First responders found the 25-year-old, dressed in a black shirt and black shorts, unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds across his body. Emergency medical personnel confirmed that he had already died of his injuries at the scene.

As of the latest update from the Royal Bahamas Police Force, no suspects have been taken into custody in connection to either killing. Investigations into both homicides remain active and ongoing, with detectives asking any members of the public who have information about either incident to contact local law enforcement immediately.

On a quiet Friday evening in Eleuthera, Bahamas, a promising young life was cut short by a devastating traffic accident, leaving a grieving mother to grapple with an unimaginable loss that has shaken her entire family. Twenty-one-year-old Charles Dupuch Jr., who was just days away from traveling to New Providence for life-improving surgery to treat a painful growing cyst, was struck and killed by a van while out on a routine walk to ease his discomfort.

Marcera Smith, Dupuch’s heartbroken mother, shared her story with local outlet The Tribune, describing the sudden collapse of all the plans she and her son had carefully laid out for his future. According to police accounts of the incident, the tragedy unfolded at approximately 9:15 pm as Dupuch was walking along Queen’s Highway. A male driver operating a white CMC Veryca van only realized he had hit the young man after hearing a sharp bang and spotting Dupuch lying face down on the pavement with severe multiple injuries.

Dupuch was rushed immediately to a nearby local clinic, but his injuries proved fatal. He was pronounced dead just eight minutes after the collision, at 9:23 pm. Smith, who was notified of the emergency within minutes of the crash by a concerned neighbor who worked at the clinic, said she was unable to reach her son’s side before he passed. The neighbor had grown alarmed after learning an injured pedestrian had been brought in, knowing that Dupuch often went for evening walks to manage his chronic symptoms. When Smith discovered her son was missing from their home, she raced to the crash site, where she found him still breathing but unresponsive to bystanders who would not let her approach.

“I just paced in the center of the road,” Smith recalled, describing the helpless panic that washed over her that night. Dupuch’s stepfather accompanied the young man in the ambulance to the clinic, while Smith followed behind. She clung to hope as she traveled, repeating to herself that as long as her son was still breathing, he had a fighting chance to recover. That hope was shattered just minutes later.

The tragedy is made all the more cruel by the timing: Dupuch had been scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday at Nassau’s Princess Margaret Hospital to remove a large mucus cyst growing in his left sphenoid sinus. For months, the cyst had caused debilitating symptoms including persistent neck stiffness and chronic insomnia that disrupted his daily life. A September CT scan confirmed the growth was pressing on surrounding nerves, making the long-awaited surgery a critical step toward reclaiming his health. On the night he died, Dupuch had already packed and washed his travel clothes, organized his collection of video games, and headed out for a walk — a routine he relied on to ease his discomfort before the procedure. Instead of preparing to accompany her son to the hospital, Smith was left to identify his body at the morgue.

Smith moved her family from New Providence to Eleuthera when Dupuch was 10 years old, seeking a quieter, safer upbringing away from the negative influences of larger urban centers. Her son thrived in the close-knit island community: he attended Deep Creek School, where he excelled in hands-on vocational learning, developed a passion for agriculture, and went on to complete a post-secondary certification in hydroponic farming. He later worked as a lifeguard, blending his job with his love of open water swimming. Outside of work, Dupuch was an avid video game player, a Junkanoo enthusiast, and a quiet person who preferred small gatherings with his girlfriend or close family over large social events. His mother described him as intelligent, practical, and kind, with a sharp sense of humor who was just starting to map out his adult life.

“He was still figuring it out,” Smith said. “He was only 21, and I didn’t put any pressure on him. He was still living at home, just figuring out what he wanted to do.” The family had been working to secure a plot of land through a family inheritance from Dupuch’s biological father, with plans to help him build his own home and achieve full financial independence. All of those plans are now gone.

For Smith, this devastating loss is the second time she has had to bury a child. Her eldest daughter, Cherith, died at three months old after being born prematurely and contracting a childhood illness. “It’s just natural to think that okay, it would be me that they would bury me, and they would have each other for the rest of their lives,” Smith said. “Not that we would have to look at letting him go.”

Dupuch’s two surviving sisters, aged 18 and 8, are also struggling to process their grief. The older sister experiences waves of overwhelming sorrow, while the younger girl repeatedly asks why doctors were unable to save her big brother. The quiet family home has felt empty and wrong since Friday, with all of Dupuch’s belongings left exactly where he placed them the night he died. His television and video game console have remained powered on since he left for his walk, and Smith can see the growing memorial of flowers left by community members at the crash site from her front door.

Despite her overwhelming pain, Smith says she has found small comfort in the flood of support from the Eleuthera community. Former teachers, past employers, friends and neighbors have shared tributes to Dupuch’s kindness and good character, a reflection of the positive impact he had on everyone he met during his short life. “That’s one thing I’m proud of — that he carried himself out in the world like a decent human being. That’s all I ever wanted,” Smith said.

One question remains unanswered for the family: Smith says she has not received any communication or condolences from the driver who struck her son, and police have not released any additional details about the collision as their investigation remains ongoing. Smith acknowledged that she feels deep anger over the lack of information, but says she is setting those feelings aside for now as she prepares to lay her son to rest. “I don’t want to deal with it. I feel like that’s a rabbit hole that I go down right now,” she explained. “Given the anger that I’m already sitting on and having to bury another child, that’s something I can’t afford to open right now while I deal with everything that’s going on. I know it was an accident. Like I understand it was an accident, but just everything else around it just makes it even more difficult to just wrap my mind around.”

As of press time, police investigations into the crash are still ongoing.

A Bahamian family is grappling with unfathomable grief after a sudden roadside collision claimed the life of 37-year-old motorcyclist Tyrone Paul, leaving behind two young sons and a mother clinging to the memory of their final, unanticipated goodbye.

Betty “Rochelle” Mader, Paul’s mother, shared that just 24 hours before the October 5 crash, her only son had carried her luggage through the airport and pulled her into a warm embrace. That hug, a routine act of love between a mother and son, would be their last. The following morning, just after 8 a.m. south of John F Kennedy Drive on Gladstone Road, Paul’s motorcycle collided head-on with a Subaru traveling in the opposite direction, killing him at the scene.

Originally from Grand Bahama, Paul had relocated to New Providence just over a year prior. He leaves behind 13-year-old Tyrone and 11-month-old Tyre, who is set to mark his first birthday on October 21. For Mader, the deepest pain lies in all the milestones her son will never get to experience, and the childhood his youngest child will spend without a father.

“I don’t get to see him walking down the aisle. His children don’t see that. Him not being there for his children, the baby will never know him,” Mader said in an interview shared with local media.

Paul, who was widely known to his loved ones as “T”, had been riding motorcycles for roughly 14 years, earning a reputation as an experienced rider. While Mader never fully supported her son’s passion for motorcycling, she respected his autonomy as an adult and accepted his choice.

Preliminary findings from local police indicate Paul was traveling northbound when he entered the southbound lane, striking the oncoming Subaru. The force of the impact threw Paul from his red and white Honda 650 onto the pavement, where he succumbed to his injuries. First responders found Paul unresponsive near his motorcycle, and the other driver’s Subaru sustained extensive front-end damage.

In a surprising act of grace amid her grief, Mader said she is grateful to the other driver involved, who remained at the scene and even prayed with her son before emergency services arrived. She told reporters she hopes to meet the person one day to express that gratitude in person. “That was truly a blessing. That is someone that I would like to meet,” she said.

Beyond the details of the crash that ended his life, Mader wants the world to remember her son as the charismatic, caring connector who bound communities and families together. Throughout his childhood and teenage years, Mader often opened her home to as many as six of Paul’s friends at a time, many of whom remain close to the family decades later.

“He built foundations for people by building communities, drawing families together, and those people are still in our lives today,” Mader said.

She described Paul as a loyal, respectful, and dependable person whose larger-than-life personality lit up every room he entered. “When he entered the room, he was the star. No matter what it was that was taking place in his life, he was like the star. He was like the crackerjack, the smile, the gift in the box.”

For Mader, the most cherished memories are not grand events, but quiet, honest conversations the pair shared over the years. Paul always encouraged his mother to speak openly about her troubles, and even when their discussions grew tense, he never dismissed her feelings. Those small moments, she said, were the foundation of the unbreakable trust they shared.

The tragedy has also left Mader with a urgent lesson to share with others: that no one knows when their last moment with a loved one will come, so it is critical to prioritize people over possessions and cherish every second together.

“You don’t know the last one. That’s why we have to truly embrace every minute, every moment, and value people and not things,” she said.

Today, Mader is coping with her loss one day at a time, drawing comfort from the memories she shared with her son and the countless lives he touched during his too-short life. When asked what she would say to Paul if she could speak to him one more time, Mader’s voice softened as she returned to the bond that shaped both of their lives.

“That’s my baby, man. That’s my baby. That’s my baby no matter what,” she said. She added that she always made sure Paul knew how proud she was of him, and that he would always have his mother’s support. “I always reminded him I’m proud of him. No matter what, his mommy got him. That’s something he knows, ‘mommy got you’.”

A widely circulated series of videos documenting the public shaming of a 9-year-old boy caught stealing a bicycle has sparked intense online debate, after the child’s mother spoke out against the excessive, degrading treatment her son endured at the hands of vigilantes.

Charliece Saunders, a single mother raising eight children, does not deny her son’s wrongdoing — she has already punished him for the theft herself — but argues that no child deserves to be suspended from a fence, recorded, and have his humiliation shared across social media for public entertainment. The entire incident unfolded on a Monday earlier this year, when surveillance context captured the theft play out. An adult man had locked his bicycle outside a local corner store before stepping inside to shop. A group of teenage boys had gathered nearby with their own bikes, and Saunders’ 9-year-old, who was waiting on the handlebars of one of the older boys’ cycles, seized the opportunity to steal the parked bicycle and ride off with the group.

It did not take long for the group to be confronted by a man who had tracked them down. In a second video titled “Culprit Caught”, the man films the group as the other boys immediately turn on the 9-year-old, pointing him out as the thief while jeering and laughing. The aggressor grabbed the child by the arm, threatening that he would be “locked up” for his actions. A third video that circulated online showed the boy crying, hanging from a residential fence by the back of his shirt, as the person recording mocked his distress.

When the incident took place, Saunders was working a shift at a local fast-food restaurant, where employees are banned from using personal cell phones on the clock. It was not until she returned home that she was able to see the viral footage, and learned that her son had already come home that day without telling her about the public punishment he had faced.

Saunders explained that her son has repeatedly fallen in with a group of older boys who take advantage of his young age and willingness to follow direction, despite her constant efforts to keep him separated from the group. She noted this is not the first time the group has convinced him to participate in theft: he was previously involved in stealing a motorbike alongside the same crew. “They never should have hung him on the fence,” Saunders stated in an interview. “They should have brought him to me and let me know what he did instead of hanging him on the fence and recording it and posting it like it’s a joke. I can see on the video they persuading him to move the bike. But then now it’s only him on social media but it was a lot of them together when it happened.”

The hard-working mother pushed back against unspoken online criticism that her son’s behavior stemmed from inadequate parenting. Though raising eight children alone comes with significant financial and logistical challenges, Saunders says she works hard to provide for all of her kids, with support from extended family, and her son’s poor choices do not reflect a lack of care or attention at home. “I just want the public to know I’m not a bad mother,” she said. “Anything my children want they get, but he’s just easy to be persuaded.”

Days after the initial incident went viral, a second viral moment reignited public debate: a video surfaced showing a man gifting the 9-year-old a brand-new bicycle for his upcoming birthday, while the boy was at home with his grandmother and uncle. The public gesture split online opinion: some argued that giving a bicycle to a child who had just stolen one rewarded bad behavior, while others countered that the boy had already faced far harsher punishment than he deserved. Saunders again questioned the need to share the moment publicly, saying she would have preferred any act of kindness to remain private rather than being posted online for clout. Since the incident, Saunders has punished her son by banning him from leaving the house for recreational outings, and she does not plan to let him ride the new gifted bicycle any time soon.