Bermuda’s Supreme Court has acquitted former tourism and transport minister Zane DeSilva of charges relating to a party held two years ago during the early days of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Zane DeSilva, 63, who lost his cabinet post in the aftermath of the party, and his daughter Zarah Harper, 38, were cleared of providing information to an official at the Ministry of National Security that they did not believe to be true. A third defendant was cleared last week.
The charges related to an application for a large group exemption sent regarding an event held on July 3, 2020, at the Blu Bar and Grill.
While the letter stated the event would be a one-off charity dinner to support the “Meals on Wheels,” program, prosecutors alleged the event was simply a party with the veneer of a charitable purpose added to allow the event to go ahead.
The then national security minister, Wayne Caines, who gave the green light for the event, also subsequently lost his cabinet post.
The eight-female, four-male jury on Tuesday cleared both defendants with a unanimous verdict after more than three hours of deliberations.
“This is something that should never have happened. Should never have happened,” DeSilva said as he emerged from the court, thanking friends and relatives for their support.
“This could have been any one of my colleagues. Our premier. Any member on either side of the aisle. It could have been any one of us. And it shouldn’t have happened and cannot happen.”
Asked if he believed the case had been “personal”, he said that was a matter for the public to decide, adding that he was happy the matter was over, and that he and his family had been “through hell and back.
“I will continue to serve my country and my people,” he said.
During the high-profile trial several members of parliament, including Caines, Premier David Burt, and Derrick Burgess, the deputy speaker of the house, sat in the gallery to watch the proceedings.
The party at Blu made headlines after footage from the event spread on social media, including clips of both DeSilva and Caines dancing on a stage without face masks in breach of COVID-19 regulations.
Caines and DeSilva left the cabinet after they accepted an “invitation to resign” from Burt just days after the party. Both now sit as government backbenchers.
Justice Shade Subair Williams last week ordered the jury to find a third defendant, restaurant worker Angela Caldwell, 45, not guilty. The judge said the decision came as a result of “matters of the law which are in the sole provision of the court”.
CMC/
