AFC condemns arrest of opposition MPs after Demerara River standoff

The Alliance For Change condemned police operations targeting opposition MPs after a six-hour midnight confrontation on the Demerara River. Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and three MPs were intercepted and detained.

Opposition MPs arrested after six-hour river standoff; AFC warns of 'drift toward dictatorship'

The Alliance For Change (AFC) has formally condemned police operations against opposition Members of Parliament following a dramatic six-hour midnight confrontation on the Demerara River, characterising the State's conduct as a calculated campaign of harassment against elected officials. Kaieteur News reports that Joint Services ranks intercepted a fast craft carrying Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, along with MPs Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, Dawn Hastings-Williams, and Natasha Singh-Lewis at Friendship, East Bank Demerara.

The group was returning from Region One, where they had visited families and survivors of the MV Barima maritime tragedy.

Mohamed was subsequently arrested under broad references to maritime legislation and released on $100,000 bail. MP Singh-Lewis was detained separately at the Farm Police Station and released on $200,000 bail in connection with a licensed firearm stowed in a vehicle belonging to MP Hastings-Williams.

In a formal press release issued Thursday, the AFC described the police intervention as State-sponsored intimidation. "The Alliance For Change unequivocally condemns the oppressive and intimidating police action against Mr. Azruddin Mohamed and other Members of Parliament," the statement read. "The indignity of these intrusive searches, harassment and treatment of elected representatives is deeply disturbing."

The party was careful to acknowledge that "no Member of Parliament, or any citizen, is above the law," while insisting that "law enforcement must itself be lawful, proportionate and respectful of constitutional rights. The police must never become an instrument of political intimidation."

The Joint Services offered a competing account of events. According to their version, the vessel was traveling at high speed without lights at approximately 9:45 PM on August 25, ignored siren signals, and triggered a high-speed chase during which ranks allegedly observed a bag being thrown into the river.

Opposition members disputed that account, asserting the boat was already safely docked at Mohamed's private premises when security forces arrived without clear legal justification.

The confrontation was broadcast live on social media via Team Mohamed's Facebook page to more than 6,000 viewers. Footage showed police ranks cutting the vessel's mooring ropes and towing it downriver to the Ruimveldt Police Station. Ranks also declined requests for female officers to conduct body searches of the female parliamentarians present.

The Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) subsequently issued a statement clarifying that neither the vessel nor Mohamed holds authorisation or a licence to operate on the nation's waterways, citing serious safety risks.

The AFC rejected that framing, describing the State's response as a systemic threat to democratic governance rather than a routine regulatory matter.

"What is taking place should concern every Guyanese, regardless of political affiliation," the party's statement continued. "When elected representatives can be subjected to humiliation and aggressive State action, it sends a chilling message that dissent may be punished and political opponents targeted."

The AFC went further, invoking comparisons to authoritarian patterns. "These are clear and unmistakable signs of a drift toward dictatorship. Authoritarianism develops when the abuse of State power becomes normalised, institutions are weakened, and law enforcement is used to intimidate those who challenge those in power."

Concern over the incident extended beyond AFC ranks. MP Amanza Walton-Desir of the Forward Guyana Movement and APNU Parliamentary Lead Terrence Campbell each voiced alarm over what they described as the weaponisation of security forces for partisan purposes.

The AFC concluded its statement with a direct demand addressed to the government and the Guyana Police Force. "The AFC calls upon the Government and the Guyana Police Force to immediately cease any conduct that amounts to harassment or intimidation and to respect the Constitution, Parliament and the fundamental rights of every Guyanese. This is not merely about Azruddin Mohamed or WIN. It is about the preservation of democracy itself."

Source: Kaieteur News