BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – The Belize government has defended the decision to impose a limited state of emergency (SOE)in the country, saying that the measure has allowed law enforcement authorities to seize weapons from criminal gang members.
Prominent attorney Richard “Dickie” Bradley has been critical of the Ministry of Home Affairs for imposing the state of emergency, saying that it had been done for an event that was not a natural disaster.
But Home Affairs Minister, Kareem Musa, in dismissing the statement, told reporters that the authorities have removed at least 25 guns from off the streets since the SOE.
“When you look at the state of emergency, I always say it is not a tool we often use. It is one last resort but has yielded significant results over the previous month. We’re talking 25 or so weapons, in some instances, very high-powered weapons removed from the streets, making our communities safer.
“We’re talking about several charges, not just for murder, but for instances of robbery individuals being charged after the commissioner set up this specialized team to investigate all of the offenses over the last five months.
“And when you look at it from that lens, and the lens of the law-abiding citizens’ safety and security over the last month, I’m sure you’ll have to agree with me. If we had one murder during the first month of the SOE, that’s a lot. And from various fronts, you can see the success of it,” Musa said.
Bradley and another attorney were also critical of the authorities for incarcerating a 13-year-old child at the Wagner’s Youth Facility within the Belize Central Prison, who has not been convicted of the allegations made against him.
Attorney Leslie Mendez has already written to Musa and the Director of the Kolbe Foundation, Virgilio Murillo, raising urgent concerns over the conditions of his detention and his access to legal representation.
Mendez said in her letter to Musa and Murillo that “upon reviewing the Belize Constitution, Statutory Instrument No. 94 of 2024 and Statutory Instrument No. 99 of 2024, I found no provision that exempts or conditions a detainee’s right to access legal representation, much less that of a child detainee.
“Both the Belize Constitution and the Statutory Instrument No. 99 of 2024 explicitly recognize detainees’ right to legal representation.”
For his part, Bradley said, “We in this country, we are part of the regional and international community of nations. We have a responsibility to look after children. If we treat children like that, then we are gone.”
But Musa told reporters, “We have to understand the context. Dickey Bradley is a defense attorney. He is paid well, handsomely, to defend criminals. And so he’s speaking to a particular audience when he’s giving his interviews.
“And as the key is well known, not just for his courtroom performances, but his media performances. And so I chalk it up to that. Dickie Bradley is speaking to his specific audience,” Musa said, adding that the 13-year-old has since been moved from the Wagner Youth facility.
“While at Wagner’s Youth Facility, he was in protective custody, as were the other minors. There are eight total, two under the age of 16. The others are 17, seven of them.
“And so having them in protective custody in the first instance was important because when you put him automatically at new beginnings, you’re not taking into consideration the best interests of the children who are new beginnings because we’re dealing here with an individual who it is alleged is dangerous.
“And so you have to look at whether he’s a danger to himself, whether he’s a danger to others. It is in conjunction with the Ministry of Human Development and UNICEF that we took a visit; Ms. Alison Parker from UNICEF, the CEO of the Ministry of Human Development and Home Affairs, visited the Wagner Youth Facility and had an opportunity to speak with these young men,” Musa added.
Police Commissioner Chester Williams questioned what was the 13-year-old boy doing on the streets on March 9 when he was shot.
Commissioner of Police
“The fact that he had been shot …year after 8.00 pm (local time)… one would then wonder what was a 13-year-old doing on the street around nine at night to have been shot? Where was the parent?
“There is still the curfew law that prohibits any child under 16 from being out in public after eight p.m., absent any parent or guardian. So, in that particular instance, the mother could have been held accountable for what happened to the child.
“After that, we had two other reports of the child being involved in gunplay, going after people with intent to shoot them. And so, there was sufficient time for us to be able to take him under the SOE. And I still believe it was the right thing to do,” Williams said.
He said that the mother was fighting for the child to be released, but questioned, “Does she have the capacity to take care of that child?
“If you look at the history, the child’s father was a street figure. He was killed. The child’s stepfather is a street figure. The mother is absent. So, if the child is released back to her, how can she act in the best interest of that child, as stated by the Families and Children Act?
“I don’t think she has the capacity. So if it is that something can be done where the child can be taken in as a ward of the state and kept at New Beginnings until he attains the age of 18, I think that would be the best thing for that child,” Williams told reporters.
He said in this particular instance that, at New Beginnings, the child will be able to get the mentorship that he needs and the guidance that he needs to be able to transform himself and become a more productive young person.
“If he’s let back on the streets in the hands of the mother, we might report of him being killed or him killing somebody. So as a society, we need to look at it holistically and not just try to demonize the system for what was being done,” the police commissioner added.
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