David Patterson blocked from leaving Guyana to meet US officials

Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 September 2023, 6:57 by Denis Chabrol

A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) parliamentarian David Patterson said immigration officers blocked him from leaving Guyana for the United States (US) where he and other opposition parliamentarians were due to meet with American congressmen and other officials on the political and economic conditions in Guyana.

He said he had already cleared customs and immigration and was in the departure lounge when an immigration officer later approached him and informed that he could not leave Guyana. “About 30 minutes afterwards, an immigration officer approached and informed me that that immigration made a mistake in allowing me to proceed, said there was a no-fly order on me in their system, and asked that I accompany them to speak to the officer on duty,” he told Demerara Waves Online News.

Mr Patterson credited the immigration officers with being very courteous and apologetic but said the instructions came from “town”. After informing Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes what had transpired, that lawyer spoke with immigration officers who told him that there was no court order blocking his departure, but someone placed “a note n the system.”

When contacted Wednesday morning, Mr Hughes told Demerara Waves Online News that he would be filing “legal proceedings”.

According to Mr Patterson, this lawyer reminded the immigration officers that there were several court rulings that prohibit persons from being denied the right to travel without an expressed court order. The APNU+AFC lawmaker reported that the immigration officers said they were aware of those court rulings but there was nothing they could do. “They were powerless unless they received instructions from a senior rank, attempts to contact senior ranks was without success!,” he said.

Mr Patterson was on July 28, 2023 placed on a total of GY$750,000 bail on charges related to indecent exposure. The court allowed him to travel for professional or other reasons. Mr Patterson said his effort to leave Guyana was the first time since his arraignment.

Mr Patterson was expected to be part of an opposition APNU+AFC delegation that is headed by Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton and also includes PNCR General Secretary Ms. Dawn Hastings; Shadow Local Government Minister and PNCR Executive Committee Member, Mr. Ganesh Mahipaul; Shadow Attorney General and PNCR Executive Committee Member, Mr. Roysdale Forde; Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs and PNCR Executive Committee Member, Amanza Walton-Desir; PNCR member Ms. Nima Flue Bess; AFC Chairman, Catherine Hughes; AFC member Deonarine Ramsaroop, and Leader of the Guyana Action Party, Vincent Henry.

They are due to meet with the Congressional Black Caucus, including Democratic Minority Leader, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries on Wednesday. “The meeting with Mr Jeffries and his team 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,” APNU+AFC said.

President Irfaan Ali and a team earlier this month travelled to the US where they briefed the Congressional Black Caucus, including Mr Jeffries and other American decision makers, about the governance of Guyana and other issues.