Opposition Members of Parliament from A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on Wednesday met with residents displaced from the Friendship squatting area, as legal action is being considered following the eviction of more than 50 families.
The outreach was led by Attorney-at-Law Dr. Dexter Todd and included MPs Sherod Duncan and Saiku Andrews, along with other party representatives. Leader of the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP), Simona Broomes, was also on the ground engaging affected residents.
According to information shared on APNU’s social media platforms, Dr. Todd is exploring legal avenues amid mounting concerns over the treatment of families removed from the area and the conditions in which they now find themselves.
The visit follows events on Tuesday, March 17, when a court-ordered eviction was executed at the Friendship community. Reports indicate that the court order was issued on the very same day the eviction was carried out, raising serious questions about whether residents were afforded any meaningful time or opportunity to respond.
Court marshals, supported by police ranks, moved into the area to enforce the order on what has been described as privately owned land. Homes were demolished, and families—some with children and elderly members—were left scrambling to salvage belongings as their living spaces were torn down.
Residents have since described scenes of confusion, distress, and desperation, with several claiming they received little notice before the operation. Many were left exposed along the roadway, without immediate shelter or clear guidance on relocation.
On Wednesday, APNU representatives listened to accounts from displaced families and assessed the situation on the ground, as calls intensified for urgent government intervention to provide emergency assistance and longer-term housing solutions.
Dr. Todd’s consideration of legal action signals a potential escalation, with questions being raised about due process, fairness, and the protection of citizens’ rights.
Beyond the legal arguments, the events at Friendship have ignited a deeper and more troubling national question. If a court order can be issued and enforced within the same day—leaving dozens of families uprooted within hours—what does that say about the state of justice and the rights of ordinary citizens in Guyana?
The scenes emerging from the community point to a system that appears swift in enforcement but lacking in humanity—where the law is applied with force, yet without sufficient regard for dignity, fairness, or the lived realities of the people it affects, raising an unsettling concern about whether, in practice, the rights of the ordinary citizen are truly protected or merely conditional.
