PRESS RELEASE
It is more than two weeks (over 350 hours) since 12-year-old Kernisha Etienne was taken from her home in Warner. She remains missing notwithstanding information on her “possible whereabouts” received by police five days ago from her alleged abductor before he allegedly died in police custody.
Kernisha is a very fragile young girl and we remain deeply concerned about the unfortunate circumstances of her abduction and her current condition. This is incredibly painful and traumatic, and we continue to pray that she is found and returned to her family. The United Workers Party demands that the police immediately ramp up its search and rescue efforts, including getting assistance from our neighboring countries as well as the Regional Security System (RSS). No stone should be left unturned. We pray for the family of Kernisha and ask the Almighty Father to give them the requisite strength as they struggle through this ordeal.
The alleged death of Keyan Alexander at the hands of the police is also of grave concern to us as it should be to all Dominicans. He was supposedly the only known person with information on the location of Kernisha and so it was critical that he was apprehended alive and able to communicate. Sadly, his demise has left us with little or no tangible path to finding and bringing home Kernisha.
The police reports of the capture and death of Keyan Alexander have only made a bad situation worse. Riddled with misleading information, false narratives, and impractical timelines of the police engagement, the story that we’ve been given bears the resemblance of an orchestrated cover-up designed to absolve bungling police officers.
We understand that an autopsy was completed on the body without family member identification. Such outrageous police conduct, once again, severely injures the credibility of the leadership of the Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force in the eyes of the people of Dominica.
There are simply too many inconsistencies, falsehoods, and examples of willful incompetence in the police account from senior officers who have, in the past, demonstrated an energetic aversion to the truth.
The abduction and disappearance of Kernisha Etienne, the alleged death of Keyan Alexander, and the actions of the Police, require a thorough independent investigation and we call on the President to act accordingly and immediately in the public interest.