标签： Trinidad and Tobago

Top political analyst Dr. Winford James has issued a stark call for Trinidad and Tobago’s political leadership to abandon divisive racial rhetoric, warning that long-simmering ethnic tensions could spiral into dangerous outcomes given the nation’s unique history of coexistence between two major ethnic groups spanning more than 70 years.

In an exclusive interview with local outlet Express on Wednesday, James argued that for decades, successive national governments—starting from the administration of Dr. Eric Williams—have failed to meaningfully confront systemic issues of racism, instead allowing racial identity to skew national policy and decision-making. This pattern of avoidance, he emphasized, has set the stage for the dangerous, unacceptable political discourse playing out across the nation today.

“We know racial discord can lead to racial violence. And this is not the way to go. It solves no problems,” James told reporters. He stressed that the small island nation cannot withstand the devastating social and economic fallout of open racial conflict, noting that while the country has enjoyed relative interethnic peace for generations, leaders must actively work to protect that stability instead of putting it at risk.

Turning to the current political landscape, James analyzed the strategy of the opposition People’s National Movement (PNM), which lost national office in recent elections. He noted that the party appears to be prioritizing consolidating its traditional core voter base, which it believes has eroded in recent cycles. However, James warned that shifting demographic and social changes have made reliance on outdated, race-based voting patterns obsolete. Modern voters are far more informed, articulate, and issue-focused than in decades past, he explained, meaning any party that hopes to return to power must expand its appeal beyond its established ethnic and ideological base. Once political support is lost through poor performance or divisive tactics, James added, it is often extremely difficult to win back.

Beyond the question of racial division, James also delivered a broad critique of the quality of national political debate across all major parties. He argued that public discourse is dominated by shallow talking points, empty rhetoric, and counterproductive jargon, rather than substantive discussion of the core challenges that impact daily life for Trinidad and Tobago’s citizens. Neither of the country’s two largest political parties, he claimed, has put forward a credible, convincing policy agenda to address the nation’s most pressing problems. After more than a decade of PNM incumbency preceding their election loss, many voters have already concluded the party failed to deliver on key promises, he added, and the ruling party has failed to fill that policy gap with meaningful solutions of its own.

“We look around and we want to see… what the real issues are that will give the population solace and comfort going forward. But we don’t hear them. We hear shallow pronouncements, rhetoric, and unacceptable jargon on platforms and media,” James said.

He closed by urging leaders to set aside division and come together to build a clear national agenda centered on inclusive development and tangible, meaningful change for all citizens—an agenda he says is noticeably absent from current politics. “This is not the time for separation, but to come together and look at the content of what we need. We need serious conversations. The time has far come when we need to determine what the actual issues are and how we can go about getting people interested in resolving those issues,” James said. “Maintaining that peace requires a clear national agenda centred on development and meaningful change… But for that to happen we need an agenda of development and change, which is not currently evident.”

In a critical step forward for Trinidad and Tobago’s efforts to align its financial regulatory systems with global anti-crime standards, President Christine Carla Kangaloo has officially enacted the final outstanding provision of landmark 2024 legislation designed to strengthen the country’s frameworks against money laundering, terrorist financing, and illicit financial activity.

The presidential proclamation, officially documented as Legal Notice No. 596 of 2026, was signed at the Office of the President in St. Ann’s on July 30, 2026, and formally set July 31, 2026 as the effective date for Section 10(d) of the Miscellaneous Provisions [Proceeds of Crime, Anti-Terrorism, Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago, Securities, Insurance, Non-Profit Organisations, the Civil Asset Recovery and Management and Unexplained Wealth and Miscellaneous Provisions (FATF Compliance)] Act, 2024 (Act No. 17 of 2024). The official text of the proclamation confirms that after months of incremental implementation, the full scope of the 2024 legislation is now active across the country.

This latest proclamation builds on a series of regulatory updates rolled out by the Trinidad and Tobago government in late 2025, when President Kangaloo signed a slate of complementary FATF compliance bills into law. That November 2025 package brought into force all provisions of the 2025 Miscellaneous Provisions (FATF Compliance) Act, as well as Sections 10(a), 10(b) and 10(c) of the 2024 act, and select provisions of the 2020 Miscellaneous Provisions (FATF Compliance) Act. All of those earlier provisions took effect on November 17, 2025, following bipartisan passage through the country’s legislative branches: the 2025 act was approved without amendments by the House of Representatives on September 16, 2025, and confirmed by the Senate 10 days later on September 26, 2025.

The full package of legislative amendments updates seven core national laws, ranging from the Proceeds of Crime Act and Anti-Terrorism Act to the Non-Profit Organisations Act and Civil Asset Recovery and Management and Unexplained Wealth Act. When introducing the 2025 FATF Compliance Bill and companion Counter-Proliferation Financing Bill to the House of Representatives, Finance Minister Dave Tancoo emphasized the government’s unwavering commitment to rooting out corruption and illicit financial activity.

“This Government is not making joke in the fight against corruption,” Tancoo told lawmakers. The legislation introduces strict penalties for regulatory breaches, including fines of up to $1.75 million for violations by financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses.

A key groundbreaking change included in the new laws grants the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) explicit statutory authority to investigate tax-related offences for the first time in the country’s history. Tancoo explained that the new investigative powers will equip the BIR to effectively detect and deter tax evasion, a gap that had previously been flagged by global assessors.

The legislative updates also strengthen the enforcement capacity of the Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (FIUTT), granting the agency new tools including the ability to issue oral regulatory directives, impose meaningful penalties, and publish details of fines levied against non-compliant entities. Tancoo noted that these changes will transform the FIUTT from what had been perceived as a toothless regulatory body into an effective oversight body.

“Through this, he asserted that the FIUTT will not be ‘just a paper tiger, but it will be a strong, agile and effective watchdog’,” Tancoo said.

The minister added that global assessments had previously identified significant gaps in Trinidad and Tobago’s ability to combat tax evasion, which siphons critical revenue away from public services, erodes public trust in the fairness of the national tax system, and creates opportunities for more widespread illicit financial schemes. Full alignment with FATF standards, which require competent national authorities to have adequate investigative powers to counter money laundering and terrorist financing, is the core goal of the entire legislative package.

A bitter public conflict centered on racial friction and national unity has broken out between Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles, with the top political rivals trading accusations of fueling societal fragmentation on a recent public holiday weekend.

The dispute ignited after Beckles, leader of the People’s National Movement (PNM), published a scathing Facebook post titled *“Unity Must Start With You, Prime Minister”* calling on Persad-Bissessar to step down. The opposition’s anger stemmed from the Prime Minister’s decision to skip the 2026 African Emancipation celebrations hosted by the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago, held at the Lidj Yasu Omowale Emancipation Village in Port of Spain’s Queen’s Park Savannah.

Beckles branded Persad-Bissessar’s absence as a deliberate show of disdain for a core part of the nation’s shared history. She rejected claims that the annual commemoration is an exclusive PNM event, emphasizing that “Emancipation is a sacred part of Trinidad and Tobago’s history and belongs to all citizens, not any political party.” The opposition leader went further, accusing the Prime Minister of petulant, disrespectful behavior that undermines the national commemoration, arguing that her actions prove she is unfit to hold public office.

Beckles also criticized Persad-Bissessar for defending a controversial Emancipation-themed event organized by the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), framing that choice as a second deliberate insult to the nation’s African community. She accused the ruling United National Congress (UNC) government of gaslighting the public about its commitment to unity, saying the administration actively deepens racial and political divides for political gain. Additional questions were raised about the upcoming Independence Day Parade, with Beckles suggesting the government’s vague plans for the event, tied to the ongoing construction of the North Stand that disrupted the Emancipation Village, stem from a fear of public backlash against the administration.

In a broader attack on the UNC government, which won power in the April 28, 2025 general election, Beckles argued that public discontent is boiling over due to what she called the administration’s dismal, vindictive style of governance. She claimed that the government’s avoidance of press conferences to dodge scrutiny, retreat from public events to escape pushback, and efforts to silence cultural criticism amounts to a direct threat to Trinidad and Tobago’s democracy. Closing her call for resignation, Beckles said Persad-Bissessar has violated the oath of office by failing to serve all citizens impartially, and that an honorable exit would clear the way for the PNM to lead the country with a unifying agenda.

Persad-Bissessar pushed back forcefully against the opposition’s accusations, dismissing Beckles’ calls for unity as performative, disingenuous political theater. In comments to the *Express*, the Prime Minister claimed that PNM lawmakers, party leaders and supporters have a long record of inflaming anti-Indo-Trinidadian rhetoric, citing slurs targeting the Indo-Trinidadian community used in political discourse during the holiday. She called the current PNM under Beckles the most aggressively racist and divisive iteration of the party in modern history, pointing to the verbal harassment of two senior UNC allies over the Emancipation weekend as proof of the party’s toxic rhetoric.

The Prime Minister singled out the heckling and abuse directed at Culture Minister Michelle Benjamin, an Afro-Trinidadian politician whom Persad-Bissessar described as a close political ally she calls her “daughter,” and University of Trinidad and Tobago chairman Selwyn Cudjoe, an Afro-Trinidadian scholar who backs the UNC. Persad-Bissessar condemned the attacks, saying PNM supporters targeted the pair specifically to spread anti-Indo-Trinidadian hatred and undermine Afro-Trinidadians who align with the ruling party. She added that members of the Emancipation Support Committee stood by silently on stage as the harassment unfolded, refusing to intervene to stop the abuse of Benjamin. “That is how they celebrated Emancipation Day by allowing PNM political hacks to abuse a young brilliant hardworking and kind Afro-Trinidadian daughter,” she said, explaining that Benjamin was targeted only because of her association with the UNC, not because of her identity as a member of the African community. Persad-Bissessar concluded by saying she has lost all respect for the Emancipation Support Committee over its inaction, and reaffirmed that her government will continue its work serving all citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.

Trinidad and Tobago’s annual African Emancipation Day celebrations on Saturday were overshadowed by open public discontent toward Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her ruling cabinet, drawing sharp criticism from the opposition that frames the unrest as a sign of deep citizen betrayal over the administration’s recent policies.

The first eruption of discontent came early in the day, at the Arise Monument located near Port of Spain’s Treasury Building on Independence Square, where Culture and Community Development Minister Michelle Benjamin delivered the official emancipation address ahead of the traditional annual procession. When Benjamin name-dropped Persad-Bissessar during her remarks, portions of the assembled crowd booed loudly, and as Benjamin stepped away from the podium, one frustrated attendee shouted a direct rebuke: “We will remember that you promised food for tomorrow while we starve today.”

Tensions flared again later that same day at the Lidj Yasu Omowale Emancipation Village, hosted at Port of Spain’s iconic Queen’s Park Savannah. When Dr. Asha Kambon, director of the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago (ESCTT), took the stage to announce that Persad-Bissessar would be unable to attend the scheduled event, segments of the crowd broke into jeers and shouts of disapproval.

Kambon quickly moved to de-escalate the situation, urging attendees to set aside personal political views and uphold basic standards of respect for all invited guests. “Everyone has their own views, but please be respectful,” she told the crowd, explaining that the prime minister’s cancellation was a last-minute change that did not erase her status as an invited guest. “Whether the Prime Minister showed up or not, she was an invited guest who was simply unable to attend, and asked those present to remain respectful regardless of their view, political or otherwise. We should treat all our guests with the same level of respect.”

In a Facebook post published the following day, opposition Member of Parliament Marvin Gonzales framed the public’s angry reaction as a direct consequence of broken promises and authoritarian overreach by the Persad-Bissessar administration. Gonzales argued that Saturday’s unrest was an inevitable outcome of widespread public feelings of betrayal, pointing specifically to the recent implementation of a state of emergency (SoE) paired with preventive detention orders (PDOs) that he described as “a new form of enslavement” designed to suppress mass dissent.

Gonzales went on to accuse the ruling government of paranoia and overreaction to public criticism, claiming that the administration now taps the personal phones of ordinary citizens because it cannot tolerate pushback from the public. He also questioned the government’s long-standing choice not to hold an official Independence Day Parade in central Port of Spain, claiming the avoidance proves the administration is “hiding from the masses” and afraid to face public anger over its failed policies.

On Thursday, speaking at the Diego Martin Borough Corporation’s third annual Civic Awards held at the Diego Martin South Community Centre, Trinidad and Tobago Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles delivered a sharp rebuke of the current administration’s deployment of a national state of emergency (SoE), arguing that the measure has drifted far from its intended purpose of curbing crime and become a tool to suppress ordinary citizens and political opposition.

Beckles told the assembled audience that she has heard repeated firsthand accounts—and many attendees in the room have themselves experienced—how preventative detention orders, regulatory powers designed to be deployed only with extreme caution against verified public safety threats, are now being arbitrarily applied to law-abiding residents. She pointed to a recent, high-profile incident targeting her own party, the People’s National Movement (PNM): the party’s longstanding headquarters at Balisier House has been served with an Unexplained Wealth Order, a move Beckles frames as deliberate political intimidation masked as formal legal procedure.

“When the instruments of the State are turned against a private citizen with no criminal charge filed, or against the headquarters of an opposition political party, we are no longer fighting crime—we are silencing dissent,” Beckles emphasized. She made clear she would not remain silent on the issue, regardless of venue. “We are living through an unwanted, unnecessary state of emergency. I envision a Trinidad and Tobago where, if a state of emergency must be invoked at all, it is used as a precise scalpel against actual threats, not a blunt cudgel that harms innocent people.”

Beyond her critique of the state of emergency, Beckles laid out a broader vision for governance in the twin-island nation. She called for meaningful empowerment and adequate resourcing for local government, noting that local bodies should not be sidelined as a “poor relative” of central government. Instead, she argued, they are essential partners in delivering core public services—from repairing failing drainage infrastructure to building public parks, creating local employment, and rebuilding community pride one borough at a time.

Beckles also spoke to the value of Trinidad and Tobago’s multiethnic tapestry, highlighted by the diverse population of Diego Martin that includes Afro-Trinidadians, Indo-Trinidadians, Chinese, European, Syrian-Lebanese, First Peoples, and migrants from other Caribbean islands who have made the nation their home. “Every ethnic thread should be celebrated, not exploited for political division,” she said.

Turning to the legacy of the nation’s first prime minister, the late Dr Eric Williams, who founded the modern republic, Beckles recalled that Williams built the nation from grassroots, not from an elite ivory tower. His vision rested on the conviction that investment in education, national self-respect, and unity would lift the small twin-island state onto the global stage. Working tirelessly to advance that vision, Williams ultimately sacrificed his own health in service of the country, leaving a legacy of a republic that generations of Trinbagonians can be proud of. “We cannot, in this patriotic season, allow that inheritance to be squandered—not by lawlessness, not by careless rhetoric, not by a government that treats its own citizens as enemies of the state,” Beckles said.

Beckles closed with a call for a new approach to governance, saying the nation deserves an administration that turns hope into tangible policy rather than empty campaign slogans. She affirmed her commitment to carry this vision from the Diego Martin stage to the Prime Minister’s official residence at Whitehall, should voters give her the opportunity, drawing on the same conviction that brought her into public office as a councilor in Arima back in 1992.

Echoing a prior remark from former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Beckles concluded: “Do not let anyone tell you that this is a lawless dump. This is home. This is sacred ground, watered by the sweat of every ancestor who ever called it home. It deserves leadership that treats it that way.”

The ceremony, held under the theme “Stronger Together, Faith For Family, Community and Borough”, was attended by multiple senior members of the borough corporation, including Mayor Akeliah Glasgow-Warner.

A prominent Trinidad and Tobago-based law firm, Quantum Legal, has publicly urged the national government to overhaul its approach to national security administration by embedding greater transparency and institutional accountability into existing frameworks. In a formal policy statement released last week, the firm — led by veteran attorney Criston J Williams — emphasized that sustained public trust in national security institutions can only be built through consistent legal oversight, robust privacy protections and clearly defined public reporting protocols.

The firm stressed that its position represents an independent legal policy contribution focused on public sector accountability, responsible security governance and rebuilding institutional confidence, rather than an assessment of individual wrongdoing or criminal liability on the part of any current official.

At the core of Quantum Legal’s argument is the principle that the debate over national security is not about whether the state deserves to hold robust intelligence and security capabilities, but about how those capabilities that impact core civil rights — including personal privacy, individual liberty, private communications, detention powers and cross-border intelligence cooperation — are exercised. The firm holds that all exercises of these powers must be rooted in explicit legal authority, follow properly documented procedures, and include safeguards that prioritize the protection of individual rights. It further noted that while a level of operational secrecy is necessary to protect sensitive national security information, that secrecy should never be used as a justification to sidestep formal governance requirements.

Under current frameworks, the public holds a legal right to critical clarity around multiple core national security practices, Quantum Legal argued. These include confirming whether legally mandated national security reports have been finalized and submitted to relevant oversight bodies, whether privacy-impacting security powers have been deployed in compliance with the law, and whether all cross-border cooperation involving private communications, personal data and digital devices follows verifiable legal processes.

The firm put forward a series of concrete recommendations to improve accountability. It proposed that all statutory or governance reports related to national security, communications interception and security agency oversight should be tracked publicly by submission date, current status and lead responsible office, with only sensitive operational details redacted in line with existing legal protections for national security. All uses of communications interception, communications data access, personal device search and personal information gathering should be tied to explicit legal authority, limited to specific pre-defined purposes, stored with strict security protocols, and subject to post-deployment accountability checks, the firm added.

For cross-border intelligence and technical cooperation arrangements, Quantum Legal argued that the legal basis, cooperation channels and privacy safeguards for all partnerships should be open to independent confirmation without revealing sensitive operational details. The firm noted that international partners and regional allies expect any information sharing and technical cooperation with Trinidad and Tobago to be backed by robust domestic legal safeguards. It warned that fragmented or unclear domestic reporting processes could erode international partners’ confidence in future cooperation, even when formal diplomatic relations between states remain strong.

Strengthening domestic national security governance will directly boost Trinidad and Tobago’s standing as a reliable regional and global partner, Quantum Legal argued, concluding that “a trustworthy State does not expose operational secrets; it demonstrates that secrecy is governed by law.”

To advance these reforms, the firm has raised a series of targeted questions for public clarification from relevant authorities. These inquiries include: which national security, security agency and interception-related reports have been completed, received, delayed or remain unsubmitted; what formal policies govern requests for foreign technical or intelligence assistance that involve citizen data or private communications; what existing safeguards are in place to protect personal privacy and data integrity; what non-sensitive information can be released publicly to reassure both domestic stakeholders and international partners; and what independent or parliamentary oversight mechanism exists to ensure full, credible national security reporting.

Quantum Legal closed its statement by calling on relevant public authorities to issue formal clarifications on four key areas: mandatory reporting timelines for national security disclosures, the current status of all outstanding required reports, the legal framework governing cross-border security cooperation, and the institutional mechanisms planned for ongoing independent review.

A major public procurement scandal has erupted at Trinidad and Tobago’s North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA), with an internal investigation underway into claims that former chief executive officer Anthony Blake signed an unauthorized $91.5 million security services contract with private firm SWAT Estate Police Co Ltd months before the official competitive bidding process even launched.

The controversial document, dated December 19, 2025, bears what investigators confirm is Blake’s signature alongside a witness signature from a sitting NWRHA employee, according to materials obtained exclusively by the Sunday Express. Critical red flags have already emerged: the signed agreement dates nearly two full months before the NWRHA published its official public tender notice for organization-wide security services in February 2026. The open bidding process, labeled Tender No. 2026-20, closed on March 4 that year, with no award finalized to date.

Blake, who is currently on extended leave from the authority, has forcefully pushed back against all allegations of misconduct, framing the entire controversy as a misrepresentation of disjointed administrative documents pulled out of context. In an interview with the Sunday Express, Blake claimed the only document he signed connected to SWAT was a small, fully compliant interim contract worth just $717,342.75, awarded after the original security contractor for seven NWRHA-run health centers abruptly pulled out of its obligations in October 2025.

Per Blake’s account, the interim award followed standard internal procurement protocols that required collecting quotes from the authority’s pre-vetted existing security providers, with SWAT selected as the temporary replacement. He further explained that the $91.5 million figure cited by accusers is nothing more than a multi-year estimated budget projection for a planned organization-wide security overhaul, compiled for internal funding verification purposes rather than a binding contract. He added that the full project was designed to award contracts to multiple providers, matching the NWRHA’s long-standing operational model, and the 2026 public tender remains under review by the national Procurement Disposal Advisory Committee with no final decision made.

But acting NWRHA CEO Judith Balliram has outright rejected Blake’s account, confirming the controversy stemmed from a formal whistleblower complaint submitted to the NWRHA board several months prior. Balliram emphasized that the signed agreement in question explicitly names SWAT as the sole recipient of the $91.5 million two-year contract for all NWRHA facilities, with no planned inclusion of additional providers. She noted that even the formal funding request for the project was not submitted until January 9, 2026, three weeks after Blake allegedly signed the binding contract, and the agreement never received the mandatory approval from the NWRHA board required for contracts of that size. Under national public procurement law, Balliram stressed, the executed contract is unlawful on its face.

Adding another layer to the scandal, Balliram confirmed that after the whistleblower brought the contract to light, NWRHA officials launched an internal search for the original document — only to discover it has gone missing. She alleged the contract may have been destroyed by a senior NWRHA employee in an effort to cover up the unauthorized action. A senior anonymous source within the authority further corroborated the whistleblower’s claims to the Sunday Express, confirming the signed agreement was structured as a full, organization-wide security contract exclusively for SWAT, and that preliminary banking documentation for the contract had already been completed before the discrepancy was uncovered.

The NWRHA’s internal investigation is currently ongoing, with authorities reviewing all related administrative and financial records to determine what action, if any, will be taken once the probe is complete.

A public firestorm has broken out in Trinidad and Tobago after the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) included East Indian music and dance performances in its official Emancipation Day commemoration, with opposition politicians and community leaders accusing the institution of deliberately disrespecting the historical significance of the occasion honoring African emancipation from chattel slavery.

The event, branded “Uhuru: Celebrating Freedom”, was held last Wednesday at Port of Spain’s National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA). Alongside scheduled performances from African heritage artists including Patrice Inglesbirth, the Onilu Brothers, Dr Edward Cumberbatch and Nkosi Waldron, UTT added segments from the Shiv Sangeet School of Music and dancer Susan Mohip, the programming choice that triggered widespread criticism.

In a viral video circulated to social media this Friday, Opposition Member of Parliament Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly condemned UTT’s decision as outright disrespectful and deeply disappointing. She argued that culturally specific commemorative days are meant to center distinct histories, rather than blending community experiences. “African Emancipation Day is literally and simply about African emancipation. Indian Arrival Day is literally and simply about the arrival of the East Indians in Trinidad and Tobago. And you know what, we are big enough as people to celebrate them both separately,” Gadsby-Dolly stated.

She further pushed back against growing narratives that equate the history of African chattel slavery with the system of East Indian indentureship, drawing a clear line between the two experiences. “African slavery was a totally different thing; totally different experience, and we noticing more and more that it’s being equated, like on some level it’s similar. No, no, and we’re drawing a line in the sand today. Stop doing that. UTT you should have known better,” she said.

Speaking to local outlet TV6 on Sunday following a street renaming ceremony honoring activist Kwame Ture, Gadsby-Dolly doubled down on her criticism. She reiterated that Emancipation Day is not the appropriate venue to frame a shared cross-community struggle, emphasizing the fundamental difference between the two historical systems: “The enslaved Africans—their experience can never be compared to indentureship. The East Indians came here, they chose to come and those conditions were not ideal. It was still a choice. It was not a choice for the Africans who are here and their ancestors. They didn’t choose to come, and the conditions they endured coming here and being here should not ever be compared to indentureship. And the attempt to do that is disrespecting the struggle of our ancestors and we will not stand for it.”

Pennelope Beckles, political leader of the opposition People’s National Movement (PNM), also weighed in, noting the outsized contribution of Afro-Trinidadian communities to every sector of the nation’s development. “Whether it’s the energy sector, whether it’s in the housing sector, any particular sector that you mention, African people have played a very critical role in making what Trinidad and Tobago is today. And I want to remind us there’s every reason to be proud about your heritage, about the work that you have done, what you have contributed to make Trinidad and Tobago what it is today,” she said.

Another PNM opposition MP, Kareem Marcelle, argued that the incident is part of a growing pattern of eroding respect for Emancipation Day commemorations. He said that well-meaning pushes for cultural unity often come at the expense of downplaying the unique trauma and significance of African history in the country. “Can we just be allowed to celebrate our ancestors? Can we just be allowed to remember our painful history? Can we just be allowed to teach our children about our rich history pre- and post-slavery?” Marcelle asked, questioning repeated efforts to dilute the focus of the annual observance.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the leader of the ruling government, hit back at PNM critics, accusing the party of irrational and inconsistent hostility toward her participation in African cultural events. “If the PNM MPs and their supporters don’t want East Indians to participate in Emancipation events, that’s their democratic choice. Maybe next year the PNM could lobby UTT to invite Star Sabga and Jenna Hadeed for a spoken word performance instead,” Persad-Bissessar said. She went on to complain that she faces criticism no matter how she engages with Emancipation events: “When I wear African clothing, they curse me; if I don’t wear it, they curse me. When I participate in African cultural activities, they curse me; when I don’t participate, they curse me. When I speak to praise the contributions of Afro-Trinidadians, they curse me; if I don’t speak to praise, they curse me. I don’t know what the PNM MPs and their supporters want. They appear consumed with irrational hatred that is sending them deranged.”

Commentator Paolo Kernahan also criticized UTT’s decision in a viral social media post, arguing that the misstep reveals a disconnect between formal education and cultural awareness. “The fact that people at a university couldn’t appreciate how wildly inappropriate it was to shoehorn an East Indian cultural presentation into what was meant to be an Emancipation Day event shows the massive difference between education and intelligence,” Kernahan wrote.

UTT has defended the programming choice in an official media statement, saying the event was designed to honor Emancipation while reflecting the country’s diverse cultural heritage. “UHURU: Celebrating Freedom reflects UTT’s ongoing commitment to preserving and promoting the history, culture and the diverse heritage of Trinidad and Tobago. Through initiatives such as this, the university continues to foster cultural awareness, strengthen national pride and inspire a deeper appreciation of the values, traditions and shared experiences which shape our nation,” the statement read.

The university added that the event, held in partnership with the Ministry of Tertiary Education and Skills Training, the Ministry of Culture and Community Development and NAPA, was intended to honor the enduring legacy of emancipation and celebrate the fundamental role of African heritage in the nation’s social, cultural and artistic development. Named for the Kiswahili word for freedom, the event featured theatrical readings, dance and music that paid tribute to the courage of freedom fighters and reflected on how emancipation shaped Trinidad and Tobago’s national identity, the release said. At the event, UTT executive chairman Prof Selwyn Cudjoe noted that one of the university core responsibilities is to help build national identity and foster national pride by integrating arts and culture into education. When contacted for comment on the controversy Sunday, Cudjoe declined to speak immediately, saying he would issue a response at a later date.