“Don’t Call Me – Unless You’re Family”

Apr 17, 2026 Letters

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Dear Editor,

When Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond launched her now-infamous crackdown on tinted vehicles, she stood before the nation and told us what was meant to be a defining line in law enforcement reform:

“𝑫𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆.”  𝑵𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔, 𝒏𝒐 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒕𝒐 “𝒃𝒊𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔.” 𝑵𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍-𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅, 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓.

But Guyanese citizens are now left asking — did she mean a word of it?

Because for days, social media has been flooded with footage showing a government-issued pickup — a multimillion-dollar taxpayer-funded vehicle — being hauled from a trench. The incident reportedly followed a night out, and according to multiple accounts, the driver was none other than Minister Walrond’s own son. The videos show laughter and levity where accountability should have been.

And what has been the official response? Silence.

Not a word from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Not a statement from the police hierarchy, which operates under her authority. Not even an acknowledgment from the Minister herself — despite journalists having put the question directly to her within the same Police Media Group she oversees.

If it were an ordinary citizen caught recklessly misusing public property, the Minister’s tint-crackdown swagger would have reappeared in full force. There would be arrests, charges, and public shaming. Instead, the institutions that exist to enforce standards seem paralyzed under proximity to power.

This is not just hypocrisy — it is a constitutional distortion. The police, reportedly instructed to step back when she appeared at the scene, raise the troubling specter of executive interference.

“𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒘𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝑮𝒖𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒂’𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉.”

So yes, let’s address this anomaly — this glaring betrayal of the “One Guyana” promise. The Minister of Home Affairs cannot credibly lead a ministry dedicated to impartial justice while selectively shielding her own family. The standards she demands of the public must extend to her household.

When it comes to family, friends, and favourites, it seems the Ministry of Home Affairs has one unwritten rule: silence is the policy.

Reports identify the driver as the Home Affairs Minister’s son, allegedly after leaving a nightclub. What followed was not transparency, but a wall of silence thick enough to hide a scandal.

That silence raises urgent questions of public accountability:

• 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐮𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐚? 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬.
• 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐳𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞? 𝐈𝐟 𝐬𝐨, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬? 𝐈𝐟 𝐧𝐨𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 — 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞?
• 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬?
• 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 — 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦 — 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝?

It is difficult to avoid the stench of double standards. The same woman who spent the past year lecturing the public about responsibility, road safety, and accountability has gone mute when those principles touch her own doorstep.

Last year, at the launch of Road Safety Month, Minister Walrond warned against “carelessness, speed and distraction” and pledged that even a single death caused by a drunk driver was “one too many.” She later stood beside a grieving mother at an event for victims of road accidents, her voice thick with empathy as she spoke of “tragedies we have the power to prevent.”

In December, she thundered about transparency, promising to bring an end to the “selective practices of the past.”

Today, those very words have returned to challenge her credibility. By allegedly interfering in the crash scene and remaining silent while the police hold their breath, she has done exactly what she accused others of doing — bending the law for convenience and privilege.

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒔.

When the Minister responsible for law and order fails to submit herself and her family to the same standards she is mandated to apply to ordinary citizens, she undermines every police officer, every prosecutor, and every citizen who still believes in equal justice under law.

No minister can credibly lead a portfolio dedicated to “safe, transparent, and enforceable” governance while embodying the opposite.

The time for silence has passed. Minister Oneidge Walrond must go — not because of the circulation of a video, but because she has forfeited the moral authority to lead. The people’s desire is clear: Guyana deserves a Home Affairs Minister who serves the law, not one who bends it.

𝑰𝒇 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒖𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓: 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑶𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏.

Sincerely,

Hemdutt Kumar

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• bribing, Don't Call Me, Hemdutt Kumar, Letters, Oneidge Walrond, tint

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