Macushis in High Court challenge of arrest, prosecution in Guyana

Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 December 2025, 22:59 by Writer

Twenty-four Macushis from Kanapang are hoping that Guyana’s High Court will quash charges of illegal mining by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), and charges against 27 persons for illegally entering Guyana.

In addition to unspecified aggravated and exemplary damages for breach of their fundamental and constitutional rights, the men are seeking GY$3 million per day of unlawful incarceration.

Mr Phillip Laurindo- on behalf of himself and the Kanapang Village Council – wants the High Court to find that the GGMC laid the purported charge of illegal mining under Section 14(1)(a)(ii) of the Mining Act without lawful authority.

As a consequence, through his lawyer Darren Wade, Mr Laurindo wants the court to declare that section of the law properly construed, does not create any criminal offence or penal sanction and, in the absence of an express penalty provision, cannot lawfully ground criminal charges against the persons.

As a result, Mr Laurindo is seeking an order quashing those purported charges arising out of the joint operation at Kanapang and along the Ireng River.

The applicant says no fiat was issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions authorising any persons to prosecute on behalf of the GGMC, no investigation was conducted or presented to the GGMC’s board, and that board did not meet or decide to institute charges and the GGMC has no statutory authority to prosecute.

According to the grounds for application on November 13 and 14, Guyanese soldiers, Brazilian soldiers, Guyanese police and GGMC representatives entered Kanapang, a legally titled Amerindian village which forms part of the ancestral territory of the Macushi tribe whose occupation predates the establishment of the international boundary between Guyana and Brazil, without the consent of the village council or without warrant, notice or statutory authority.

If Mr Laurindo has his way, the High Court will quash the conviction of nine persons of the Macushi communities for illegal mining and illegal entry to Guyana.

The applicant also contends that the immigration charges were unlawful, as the arrested persons are Indigenous residents lawfully traversing their ancestral territory and not “entering Guyana” in the context contemplated by the statute.

Further, the applicant is seeking the immediate release of those nine persons unless they are being held on some other lawful warrant unconnected with the impugned charges and convictions.

The respondents in the case are the Attorney General and the GGMC.

Mr Laurindo is also asking the High Court to declare that Guyanese police, soldiers and GGMC staff had no lawful authority to enter upon the titled lands of the Village of Kanapang, to arrest, detain, charge or prosecute the 24 persons, all being Indigenous members of the Macushi Tribe lawfully present within their ancestral and traditional territory.

Relatedly, one of the High Court declarations being sought is that the actions breached their constitutional right to freedom of movement by criminalising the historical and customary cross-border movement of the Macushi people within their ancestral territory along the Ireng River.

Other declarations being sought are that the arrest, detention, charging and/or conviction of those persons breached their fundamental right to liberty guaranteed under Article 139 of Guyana’s Constitution, failure to ensure that they were informed, in a language they understand, of the nature and details of the offences charged, breached Article 144(2)(b) of the Constitution and the rules of natural justice.

Further, he is seeking a declaration that those actions breached the Right to Equality and Equal Protection of the Law guaranteed under Article 149D of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, by selectively targeting persons of Indigenous and mixed descent.

The High Court is also being requested to declare that the actions the Attorney General, GGMC, Guyana Defence Force, and Guyana Police Force violated the territories and resources which the Macushis have traditionally owned, occupied or used.

At the international level, declarations are being sought in the High Court that the respondents breached Article 36 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the corresponding provisions of the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (ILO Convention No. 169), which guarantee Indigenous peoples divided by international borders the right to maintain and develop cross-border relations for cultural, social, economic and traditional purposes.

The grounds for application state that “the persons arrested, charged and/or convicted are indigenous members of the Macushi tribe, lawfully present within their ancestral territory and entitled, in accordance with long-standing custom, practice and familial ties, to traverse and occupy the lands on both sides of the Ireng River.”