GUYANA | Police Commissioner apologizes, Patterson Jets to Washington for meeting with Congressiional Black Caucus

GEORGETOWN, September 28, 2023 - Having been offered an apology by Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken for blocking his exit from Guyana, opposition parliamentarian David Patterson is expected to arrive in Washington DC in time for a meeting with a US congressional Delegation on Thursday.

 The Opposition MP’s name was secretly placed by the government on the Immigration Department’s ‘no-fly’ list, causing the politician to miss a flight to the United States, and an appointment with a US congressional delegation.

Patterson, who is Shadow Minister of Public Infrastructure, was to have made it to the United States on Wednesday but prevented from boarding his flight after clearing customs and immigration. 

Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken, who is also the Chief Immigration Officer, in an apology said: "The Guyana Police Force would like to apologise to Member of Parliament Mr David Patterson, whose name inadvertently remained on an Immigration Department's watchlist.

Mr Patterson's name was placed on the watchlist in July 2023 during an ongoing investigation by the Police into accusations of indecent exposure.”

Patterson's attorney Nigel Hughes from the law firm of  Field, Stoby and Hughes, on Wednesday said legal proceedings would be filed against the state. The Government has since said the incident was a mistake.

The member of parliament was expected to be part of an opposition delegation attending a conference in Washington DC on the political and economic conditions in Guyana.

He was also scheduled to be the main presenter on Wednesday on how the country’s US$1.7 billion oil and gas revenues in the National Resource Fund were being mis-managed by the Ali/Jagdeo administration.

The government has been under the critical spotlight of Patterson’s knowledge on infrastructure, and the oil and gas sector.

He has emerged as a prominent opposition voice holding the government accountable, ensuring Guyanese get value for their money, and equitably participate in the resources of the country.

The Opposition, A Partnership of National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), in an earlier statement said the meeting with House Democratic and Minority Leader Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and other Members “is expected to focus on the opportunities and challenges confronting Guyana and on how political stakeholders in the country can work together to ensure that all Guyanese citizens, regardless of race or ethnicity, benefit from the country’s oil wealth.”

The Caribbean Guyana Institute For Democracy (CGID), an organizer of  the symposium on political, racial and economic discrimination in Guyana by the PPP/C government, told the media that Patterson will meet with the Democratic Leader of the United States Congress and the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus  on Thursday, September 28, 2023.