Outspoken social activist Mark Benschop has blasted President Irfaan Ali’s announcement to bring in an “independent” pathologist to perform the autopsy on 11-year-old Arianna Younge, whose body was discovered in the pool of the Double Day Hotel in Tuschen on April 24, as a hollow gesture aimed at damage control, not justice.
Benschop is of the view that the president and his administration is using the tragic death of an 11-year-old as a smokescreen for political maneuvering in an election year.
Arianna’s body was found in the pool of the Double Day Hotel in Tuschen on April 24. But instead of reassuring the public, Benschop says the government’s response has only deepened suspicions.
“This is not about transparency. This is about control. The pathologist has ties to the government, and that alone disqualifies them from being truly independent,” Benschop said, calling the rushed selection process deeply problematic.
Benschop questioned not the qualifications of the proposed pathologist, but the pathologist’s links to the Ali administration, and the unseemly haste with which the government selected someone with known ties to the state.
“If you want real transparency, you don’t handpick someone with a history of collaboration with the government,” Benschop stated, emphasising that the decision should have involved consultation with the child’s family and their attorney, Darren Wade. “You cannot claim transparency while sidelining the people most affected by this tragedy,” he added.
He further criticised President Ali’s directive for the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to assemble a task force to investigate the child’s death, pointing out the clear conflict of interest. “You cannot have the police investigating themselves. That’s the crux of the problem. The police force’s conduct is already under question,” he said.
Benschop highlighted the GPF’s initial, now debunked, statement claiming Arianna was seen leaving the hotel in a vehicle, a narrative that CCTV footage has since contradicted. “This misinformation alone warrants a separate investigation. One into how such a misleading report was released, and another into the actual events surrounding Arianna’s death.”
“President Ali says he wants transparency, yet every move so far reeks of political theatre,” Benschop continued. “This is coming from an installed regime with a questionable track record on matters involving police violence and institutional failures.”
He pointed to past cases that have seen no justice or resolution: the 2012 police killings in Linden, the deadly Mahdia dormitory fire, and the unexplained deaths of three Linden youths—Ronaldo Peters, Dan Johnson, and Keon Fogenay —at the hands of police. He also referenced the brutal wave of extrajudicial killings under former President Bharrat Jagdeo’s 2002–2006 tenure.
“All we’ve gotten from this government is empty rhetoric and recycled promises. Guyanese are being handed a bag labeled ‘hope’ that contains nothing,” Benschop said.
“This is the same government that promised no stone would be left unturned in all these cases, and yet, here we are. Nothing has changed. Nothing substantial has materialiSed. The people of Guyana are left holding a bag labelled ‘hope’ that is filled with nothing but betrayal,” he said.
Benschop urged citizens to remain vigilant and not allow the administration to manipulate national tragedies for political gain. “The only way forward is to vote the PPP out of office and launch truly independent investigations into their corrupt and illegal practices. Don’t be misled; this installed regime has never been about justice. It’s always been about power.”
