Region One sisters stranded after release from Mabaruma lockups

May 15, 2020 News

– Mayor assisting with limited resources

Two sisters are now left stranded miles away from their home and children after being released from the Mabaruma Police Station lock-ups on Saturday afternoon. The women, Maritza and Ana Campbelle, were arrested by police on Friday morning of last week at their home, located at Barima-Kariago Village, Region One, for allegedly assaulting a group of female neighbours.

Maritza and Ana Campbelle waiting in the Mayor’s Office

Maritza said that they were “handcuffed and locked up mistakenly”. When asked why, she responded that both of them possess a similar resemblance to that of a younger sister who had allegedly stabbed one of the assaulted victims.
However, Kaieteur News was told that this is not true. It was revealed that prior to the stabbing the two sisters had assaulted the said female victims in an earlier incident. A complaint was filed at the police station and ranks decided to make the four-hour trip by boat to apprehend the three suspects. Unfortunately only Ana and Maritza were caught.
The women were brought down to the station, processed and placed in the lockups but because they were mothers of young toddlers, ranks decided to release them after an agreement to appear for a court hearing.
After their release, the sisters faced a huge obstacle – how to get home? Without money, food, change of clothing, boat or shelter, the women were left stranded at the Kumaka Landing. Learning of their plight, a Good Samaritan granted them shelter but told them that they had to leave by Monday.
Monday came and the sisters were still unable to make contact with family members up the Barima River since there is no cellular coverage in that area. Becoming desperate, hungry and worried about their children, they showed up on Wednesday morning at the Mabaruma’s Mayor’s office, in tears, begging for assistance to return home. But with limited resources in hand, Mayor Chris Phang revealed that he was unable to send the women back to their village.
Phang said that because of the current COVID-19 lockdown measures, boats are not working. As a result, captains are calling a hefty sum for charters. He had, however, made contact with the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) for help with transportation but sadly its boat is unavailable.
“In the meantime,” said Phang, “I’ve been able to receive cooperation from a few members of my committee to assist with a few change of clothes, food and accommodation until we find a boat.”

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