The recent killing of two protesters in Linden and the mysterious death of 11-year-old Adrianna Younge have sparked nationwide outrage, renewed ethnic tensions, and brought sharp criticism of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government, with political analyst and former PPP government minister Dr. Henry Jeffrey warning that Guyana is now reaping the “unintended consequences” of a politically-driven surveillance state.
In a provocative article in ‘Future Notes’ titled “Unintended Consequences of PPP’s Surveillance State“, Dr. Jeffrey linked the unrest to what he described as decades-long policies of ethnic domination and political suppression under the PPP. He extended condolences to the families of Ronaldo Peters and Keon Fogenay, both fatally shot by police during recent protests in the predominantly Afro-Guyanese town of Linden, and to the family of young Adrianna Younge, whose disappearance and subsequent death under suspicious circumstances in Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, has rocked the country.
Younge’s body was found in a pool at the Double Day Hotel—a location authorities initially claimed had been thoroughly searched and from which they falsely reported she had been seen leaving in a vehicle. That retracted claim, Jeffrey suggests, is symbolic of a broader pattern of misinformation and state failure that has triggered street protests and even looting across various regions.
The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) has since petitioned the National Assembly for an international inquiry into the Guyana Police Force. The petition, brought by Opposition Member of Parliament Amanza Walton-Desir, was rejected by Speaker Manzoor Nadir, a decision the GHRA called a move away from democratic redress and toward escalating social unrest.
Dr. Jeffrey’s criticises this rejection as further evidence that the PPP prefers suppressing dissent rather than engaging in civil political discourse. He argues that recent disturbances are not isolated events, but rather “unintended consequences” of the PPP’s entrenched strategy of political control through ethnic marginalisation—particularly of African and Amerindian communities.
Citing sociologist Robert K. Merton, Jeffrey outlines five sources of unintended consequences—ignorance, error, wilful ignorance, conflicting values, and self-defeating predictions—all of which he attributes to the PPP’s governance model. He contends that the “One Guyana” campaign is less about unity and more about surveillance and control, with political commissars embedded across civil institutions and excessive bureaucratic red tape hampering ordinary citizens’ rights.
The killings in Linden, he says, are emblematic of a political culture where party loyalty outweighs rule of law. He cites the charging of Sergeant Philbert Kendall for the protester deaths and the reported detention of officers involved in Younge’s case as examples of a policing culture shaped more by political allegiance than public service. These officers, he argues, are not rogue individuals but “products” of a system that rewards loyalty over legality.
Jeffrey goes further, asserting that the PPP’s political model has not only eroded the independence of key institutions like the city councils in Georgetown and Linden, the Guyana Trades Union Congress, the public service and teachers’ unions, the International Decade for the People of African Descent (Guyana), but has also impoverished public servants, diminished education outcomes, and driven both migration and the rise of a disenfranchised underclass.
The regime has produced an army of ‘scrapeheads’—disoriented, impoverished citizens, particularly from African communities—through deliberate policies that marginalise and disempower,” he writes.
The root of potential rebellion, he argues, is not poverty alone but “relative deprivation,” citing social movement theory to warn that continued political exclusion and ethnic bias could lead to more widespread unrest.
In closing, Dr. Jeffery issues a stark warning: unless there is a shift toward genuine democratic engagement and inclusive governance, the PPP’s strategy may ultimately undermine not only its credibility but the stability of Guyana itself.
