PARAMARIBO, Suriname – Authorities in Suriname have taken two suspects into custody as part of an investigation into the theft of a bronze bust honoring Fred Ramdat Misier, the country’s former acting president, law enforcement agencies confirmed April 20. The memorial statue, which stood on public display outside the Canton Civil courthouse on Grote Combéweg, was found by investigators after its disappearance but had already sustained severe damage, investigators reported.
Preliminary probes into the theft have traced the heist to the night between April 11 and 12, when the perpetrators ripped the bust from its stone pedestal and carried it away from the public site. Following their arrest, the two unnamed suspects were transported to a local police station for an initial court hearing. After coordinating with the Public Prosecution Service, authorities ordered the pair be remanded in custody while the criminal investigation continues.
The family of the late former president had previously publicly called for urgent action from the country’s leadership, releasing an open letter addressed to President Jennifer Simons demanding swift, decisive intervention from law enforcement. For the Ramdat Misier family, the crime is far more than the theft of a single piece of public art: they frame it as a deliberate attack on the dignity of a former head of state and an insult to the Republic of Suriname itself. Created by renowned local artist Erwin de Vries, the bust is widely recognized as a core national symbol of constitutional accountability, the rule of law, and the continuity of Suriname’s national governance.
Beyond the theft of this specific monument, the family has also raised alarms about what they call a growing pattern of historical monument theft in central Paramaribo. They warn that these repeated thefts systematically erode Suriname’s cultural heritage and erase the foundations of the nation’s collective memory, calling for broader action to protect other public memorials across the capital.