Power Outage Shuts Down Supreme Court and Central Police Station

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NASSAU , BAHAMAS – Power problems are now causing major issues for a critical part of government.

Up to now, the rolling blackouts have been more of an inconvenience and financial setback. But on Tuesday, the wheels of justice came to a halt, as an ongoing power failure in the downtown area brought several courts and related services to a standstill.

A source alerted Our News to the ongoing outage on Tuesday morning, as the blackout at the Eastern Bank Lane building entered a fourth straight day.

Since Friday afternoon, the Ansbacher Building had been running off a generator, with constant refueling as the blackout hours stretched into days.

The situation became critical late Tuesday morning, when the generator malfunctioned, despite attempts by technicians to repair it.

This meant several courts and related services had to stop.

Our News cameras captured the building in darkness as attorneys and other staff exited, some visibly sweating.

From the operational side, judges had to suspend trials, in some cases for a second day, adding more pressure to case backlogs during an already busy judicial calendar.

In total, five judges and three registrars ceased operations.

The Swift Justice Building, which houses an additional four judges, as well as the Criminal Registry, was also out of service.

That left a total of eight judges and three registrars unable to carry out their judicial functions.

But the situation became even more tenuous when we learned the Central Police Station, less than a block away, was also without power.

It was hard to miss the mobile unit parked outside the station’s front door, also operating with a portable generator.

We understand incoming inmates scheduled for court appearances had to be rerouted, with virtual proceedings moved to the Remand Centre at the Bahamas Department of Corrections for some criminal and bail matters.

Meanwhile, throughout the downtown area, the roar of generators from surrounding businesses could be heard.

The nearby Cafe Matisse, a popular downtown eatery, was among the many affected businesses running on generator power since Friday.

Meanwhile, we understand court officials were also kept in the dark up to Tuesday about what was behind the outage or when power might be restored.

Their attempts to contact Bahamas Power and Light for answers led nowhere.

It is believed a blown transformer on East Hill Street may be part of the problem.

In a statement Tuesday, the Court Services Council confirmed the courts will reopen Wednesday.

Those with pending court matters are being asked to report to their respective courts for new dates.