Which Minister of Government Called Police on an Innocent Woman? 

By Admin. Updated 9:34 p.m., Sunday, January 11, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

A senior housing assessor from the Ministry of Housing was detained by police on Friday, 9 January, allegedly at the direction of a government politician who is not the Minister of Housing.

Now, a case is being filed for unlawful detention and false imprisonment.

The woman, who was on vacation leave, had been instructed by her Permanent Secretary to distribute materials for unfinished houses on the Windward side to enable property owners to occupy houses that the government was constructing, some under the Lives To Live programme. Despite confirmation from the Permanent Secretary, police held her for several hours, allegedly acting on a direct call from government politician.

One News SVG contacted the woman on Sunday, 11 January, and she provided a detailed account.

She explained that she is on vacation leave and had not received a letter of dismissal. Over 150 workers at the Ministry of Housing received dismissal letters as the new administration brought an end to the housing programme, reportedly, for reassessment. Watchmen/Security, however, were not dismissed.

The Permanent Secretary had asked her to distribute materials at two locations so that work on the houses could be completed with urgency, allowing the families to move in ending their period in rental accommodation.

The woman said she left Sans Souci on Friday, travelled to the storage facility in Arnos Vale to collect the materials as specified, then delivered the paperwork to the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing before returning to her district.

The approved materials included 48 sheets of 12-foot galvanised sheeting for two houses. They also included 22 sheets of grove ply, and two toilets.
These were loaded onto a truck from the storeroom in Campden Park and Arnos Vale, with additional plywood sheets collected from the depot in North Union.

The woman, who is also the security for the North Union storage depot for the Ministry of Housing said that while at the North Union depot, a friend called to say that someone had posted a photo of her in an NDP political group chat, claiming police involvement was imminent. The woman assured her friend that the Permanent Secretary had authorised the work.

Moments later, police arrived and began questioning her after which she was detained even though she reiterated that she was acting under the instructions of the Permanent Secretary (PS). She called the Permanent Secretary, who confirmed the authorisation over the phone.

Even after the explanation by the PS, police transported her to Colonarie Police Station, where she was detained from around 6:00 p.m. until after 11:00 p.m. She repeatedly asked what charge she faced but received no answer. When she complained of hunger, an officer reportedly replied, “Look galvanise out there, go and eat those.”

She was then put in a transport en route to the Georgetown Police Station due to accommodation constraints at Colonarie, but while in the area of Mount Young, the police received a call with instructions to turn back. Following intervention by police high command, she was released.

“They had me locked up for no reason,” the distraught woman told One News SVG, adding that during her one year and five months on the job, “I never watched colours. I just helped everybody who needed help with housing, as approved by the Ministry.” The names of the government politician and the Housing assessor will be revealed as the story unfolds.

One News SVG attempted to contact the alleged government politician but received no response.

The Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Hon. Ralph Gonsalves (appointed as Leader of the Opposition by the Governor General on December 1, 2025), who is also a lawyer was aware of the situation. He noted that upon being made aware of the matter, “I spoke to two senior police officers, well one first and then to the Commissioner of Police who said they would enquire into this matter and as a consequence, she was told that they didn’t want her anymore at the Colonarie Police Station, that she could go. I am advised that her lawyer will file a case for unlawful detention and false imprisonment. She couldn’t move for at least six hours,” Dr Gonsalves said.

“When she came to see me Saturday morning just after 8, she said she was in a state of anguish. She hadn’t eaten the whole time. She didn’t eat the night,” Gonsalves said.

“Before she came to see me, she was so disturbed by this allegation that somehow she had acted unlawfully, which nothing of this sort happened.”

“But this officious politician, I’m not calling his name today. I want him to come out and say something. He shouldn’t have been calling the police. If anybody had reported anything to him about any materials, what he should have done is to contact the Minister of Housing and say, I hear this. Could you enquire into it? Rather than take the matter in his hand to go call the police.”

“He doesn’t know if anything improper or untoward had been done. First of all, ascertain rather than calling the police.”

One News SVG continues to track this story.