WIN and the APNU are calling for an immediate and formal Commission of Inquiry (COI) into death of 14-year-old Aleena Preetam, alleging that “systemic state negligence” led to the teenager’s demise.
The call for the inquiry serves as a direct challenge to the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security (MoHSSS) and the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) following the discovery of the teenager’s body in her parents’ Essequibo home in late February, just weeks after she gave birth. Natasha Singh-Lewis, WIN Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister of Human Services, described the case as one “reeking of neglect” across multiple government sectors.
“The Ministry of Human Services failed that teenager when she was sent back to live with her abusers,” Singh-Lewis stated. While acknowledging the strength of the recently passed Family Violence Act, she argued that “enforcement is weak or absent in its entirety.”
Singh-Lewis further questioned why the Guyana Police Force failed to institute rape charges when the matter was first reported and has called for a paternity test to be conducted on the newborn child, who remains in protective care. “A COI will be the best approach,” she concluded. “Guyana needs to know at what point the breaches occurred.”
Echoing these concerns, APNU MP David Hinds emphasized that Preetam’s death is not an isolated incident but indicative of a larger, systemic crisis regarding child brewed in the state’s care.
“I support any move that would protect children from abuse… COI would help to prevent these incidents,” Hinds said. “This case highlights once again how vulnerable our children have become. While the Ministry may be doing a good job investigating matters after the tragedy, more needs to be done in terms of prevention.”
Hinds also pointed to the sharp irony of the legal proceedings, noting that while the child’s father, who was charged with her abuse, was out on bail, Preetam’s own right to “safety and security was not similarly respected.” The demand for a COI comes amid mounting evidence of administrative failures. Records indicate the CPA was aware of Preetam’s extreme vulnerability as early as September 2025. Despite an Essequibo High Court order in December 2024 explicitly barring her parents from contacting her, the teenager was found motionless in their home between February 22 and 23.
Relative were reportedly alerted to the tragedy on Mashramani morning by the continuous crying of Preetam’s newborn baby.
While a post-mortem examination cited heart failure and anemia as the clinical causes of death, opposition leaders maintain that these findings do not absolve the state of its failure to protect the child from the environment that led to her physical and mental deterioration.
