The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) have called for the immediate removal of Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken, following the suspicious death of 11-year-old Adrianna Young at the Double Day Hotel in Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo. Young’s lifeless body was discovered in the hotel pool on Thursday, just a day after the police falsely claimed she had left the premises in a car, sparking outrage and suspicions of a cover-up.
PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton blasted the Guyana Police Force (GPF), accusing it of “moral decay, executive lawlessness, indecency, and injustice.” He highlighted the long-standing pattern of incompetence and corruption within the force, which has led to a complete breakdown of public trust.
AFC Leader Nigel Hughes was equally scathing, describing the GPF’s handling of the case as a “complete collapse” of the institution responsible for law enforcement. He pointed out that Young’s relatives have expressed a total lack of confidence in the police to investigate the incident properly, and argued that Commissioner Hicken must be removed by the weekend. “The GPF must enjoy the confidence of the citizenry. Virtually no one has any confidence in the GPF to discharge its mandate,” Hughes stated.
Both leaders also criticised the involvement of a government-appointed forensic expert for the post-mortem, with Hughes and Norton asserting that the family should have the right to select an independent pathologist, free from any government or police influence. Norton went further, calling President Irfaan Ali’s offer to intervene “unacceptable,” given the numerous empty promises of investigations into previous incidents with no meaningful outcomes.
“The President has promised investigations in the past — into the murders of the Henry boys, Harry Singh, Orin Boston, Quindon Bacchus, Ronaldo Peters, Keon Fogenay, and now Adrianna Young — yet each time, these investigations have yielded no results,” Norton said, pointing to a disturbing pattern of inaction and cover-ups.
Hughes added that the public’s loss of trust in the police and government institutions had led many to take justice into their own hands. He also criticized the GPF’s mishandling of domestic violence cases, citing the recent murders of three women in Soesdyke, where police ignored clear threats and failed to act in time.
The opposition leaders are calling for the establishment of a specialized unit within the GPF to handle domestic violence crimes, alongside broader policy reforms to address the systemic failures in law enforcement. With mounting public disillusionment and calls for accountability, the GPF’s handling of the Young case may well be the tipping point in the ongoing crisis of confidence facing the government and police.
