Public and parliamentary criticism has mounted sharply in Suriname over the role of Jean “Saya” Mixon, who served as an advisor to Harish Monorath, the country’s Minister of Justice and Police. The backlash has grown so intense that some lawmakers have even called for Monorath’s resignation from his cabinet post.
In a blunt response to the demands, Monorath pushed back against critics, noting that the only authority that can remove him from office is the country’s president. “People can say whatever they want,” Monorath stated. “The day the president has had enough, I will leave office. It is that simple.”
The minister addressed the ongoing controversy shortly after presiding over a promotion ceremony for 205 new police recruits at the national Police Training Center, where he was pressed by reporters to clarify whether Mixon still retains any formal or informal connection to his ministry. When pressed for a concrete answer on Mixon’s current status, Monorath declined to provide explicit details, instead claiming the entire matter is already closed.
“Parliament requested me to confirm that the individual in question no longer holds an advisor position as defined by law,” Monorath explained. “I have done that. That’s it.”
When reporters asked whether Monorath had formally thanked Mixon for his past service, the minister denied any formal recognition took place. “Nothing was ever formalized, there was never an official appointment, so there was nothing to thank him for,” he added.
Monorath further pushed back against widespread claims that Mixon had been performing official work at the ministry, or accessing resources and facilities belonging to the Suriname Police Corps (KPS). “None of those claims are true,” he said. “He never came to the ministry office, and he never received security protection from the KPS.”
He also refuted allegations that Mixon has been receiving security detail from special reserve police officers. Monorath did acknowledge that it is common practice for regular police officers to take on private security work during their personal time off, including traveling into the country’s interior regions for private assignments when they have multiple consecutive days of leave.