2025-01-06 - Channel 5 Belize

Alliance Says It’s Ready for Mediation with Shyne Barrow’s UDP

The United Democratic Party (U.D.P.) is still struggling to mend fences, even with a general election likely before the end of the first quarter of the new year. The tension stems from recent comments by Albert Area Representative Tracy Taegar-Panton, who leads the Alliance for Democracy faction of the U.D.P. Her remarks didn’t sit well with Opposition Leader Shyne Barrow. On Friday, after a strategic meeting, Panton announced that the Alliance for Democracy would be fielding eighteen candidates for the embattled party. She also referred to Shyne Barrow as the former party leader, which Barrow’s attorney, Doctor Christopher Malcolm, says contradicts the High Court’s orders regarding the leadership dispute. Late this afternoon, the law office of Arnold and Company, representing Panton and the Alliance, shared a letter with the media. Dated January sixth, 2025, and addressed to the Registrar of the High Court, the letter indicates that the defendants, including Tracy Taegar-Panton and Phillipa Bailey, are agreeing to court-recommended and facilitated mediation. However, it’s unclear how the Alliance’s recent actions and Panton’s statements will impact the mediation process. Earlier today, we spoke with Doctor Malcolm about the latest legal developments.

Dr. Christopher Malcolm, Attorney-at-law

“We now have a matter which is before the court. That court has made a number of orders, two in particular, so far in this matter and in one of them certainly the court confirmed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that at present and until there was a contrary order of the court, the legitimate leader of the U.D.P. is Moses “Shyne” Barrow and the executive with him is what is appropriate. Now for anyone at all, reading what the court has said, to conclude until the court determines otherwise that there is any question of Barrow being a former leader of the party and so on, is plain wrong or a preparedness to be mischievous because the court has said clearly and, in fact, not only is it a question of being mischievous, it’s a case of them being contemptuous of the court and that is something that should not be countenanced by anyone. I’m speaking as a lawyer, and I invite, quite frankly, the lawyer on the other side, Mr. Peter Knox, preeminent King’s Counsel out of England, or anyone else, to seek to refute anything that I’ve just said or to put aside that it is different from what I’ve given because the only thing I know how to do is to properly reflect what is and not to seek to be mischievous. I’m not at all suggesting that counsel, certainly not Mr. Knox, or anyone else has been giving advice for there to be mischief. But I’m saying that I’ve seen some very mischievous videos and postings that have been made which I think are plain wrong. It is in circumstance where I’m saying that the court should be respected and people must really measure in the scale the way the respective parties have been behaving and then determine for themselves who has been most respectful of the process and who it is that has shown some level of humility and balance, which is necessary in the circumstances.”

Malcolm on Panton: “She is in further contempt of court”

Doctor Malcolm asserts that Panton’s recent statements put her in contempt of court. He warns that if she continues to disregard the High Court’s order, another contempt application will be filed against her. Regarding Shyne Barrow’s selection of standard bearers for the upcoming general election, Malcolm explained that reverting to the status quo before the October twentieth Unity Convention allows Barrow to choose his candidates.

Dr. Christopher Malcolm, Attorney-at-law

“She is in further contempt of court, in my view, because we had said that prior to then, she was, in our view, already in contempt, in my view, but as I say here, the question of whether there was a finding of contempt is ultimately a matter for the court to determine. We are of the view that by her actions and her conduct, she has done enough for there to be a proper application made to the court for contempt of court which the court can pronounce upon and if this behavior persists, we will have no option but to renew our application with a further application for contempt of court which I think would be justified. Mrs. Panton has had enough rope to hang herself. Nobody has sought to hang her, and she has been engaging in actions which, quite frankly, are unbecoming and show an utter disregard for the process of the court.”

Reporter

“Is your client operating within the realm of the law or is he, as Tracy Panton alleges, gone far beyond what he is permitted to do?”

Christopher Malcolm

“Let me answer by starting, the moment she introduces the word former, in relation to Mr. Barrow, shows you how misguided Mrs. Panton is, because there is nothing former about Mr. Barrow’s leadership in relation to the U.D.P. at this time. So we can start there and get that established. The other thing is, by reverting the status ante, the court has said that Mr. Barrow is not only the leader of the party, but empowered by reference to the U.D.P. constitution to do such things and acts as are appropriate for the proper functioning of the party which includes its preparations for the upcoming elections. So what Mr. Barrow is doing, the question that must be asked, is he doing anything that proper leader would not require which is to, among other things, ensure that the U.D.P. has the best chance possible to select candidates under his leadership who are best able to contest the elections. Is there anything wrong with doing those things? And the answer is absolutely no.”

Should the Courts Determine the True Leadership of the UDP?

News Five also sought the insights of political scientist Doctor Dylan Vernon on the ongoing U.D.P. infighting that’s unfolding in the courts. With an election on the horizon, we asked him whether he thinks the High Court should be involved in determining the legitimacy of the party’s leadership. Doctor Vernon also shared his thoughts on the possibility of the fractured party losing all thirty-one seats in the House of Representatives.

Isani Cayetano

“In terms of the U.D.P., there is currently a claim that is before the High Court with respect to the leadership of the party. Many would argue that that’s not necessarily the place for the court to determine how that proceeds. What do you think would be the effect of this should there be an actual election called prior to the court being able to determine who, in fact, is the leader of the U.D.P.?”

Dr. Dylan Vernon, Political Scientist

“Well, if this happens, and I agree with you, because political parties are not registered in Belize there is no law, it seems to me, that a judge can look at and say well I will follow this. Maybe there’s precedence in other countries that could be followed, but what I think will happen if the court does not rule before the election is that we will have, unless the two parties, I mean they are scenarios, the two parties can come and say, okay we’ll still get together as one U.D.P. That’s one scenario. If it stays divided and tries to have candidates run in every constituency, then we’ll have a multi-party election and there could be other parties out there, smaller parties, and people are talking about the color of the ballots and all that, that to me is a trivial sort of, one: instead of having the colors being something that divides people, or maybe no red is used at all, they could use some other colors. I think that would be the responsibility of the Chief Elections Officer to decide. But we would have an election in that case where the U.D.P. and the Alliance for Democracy and other parties and the P.U.P. are all competing for seats. Understanding how politics works and how electoral politics works, the U.D.P. would be in an even worse position to lose all of the thirty-one seats, if that were the case, because you divide the so-called opposition in every constituency. Unless they have some agreement between themselves, okay I’ll run some in this constituency, you’ll run some in that constituency. So there are a lot of scenarios that can play out, so it’s hard to really predict, except to say [that] if the U.D.P. does not unite before the election then the chances of a thirty-one sweep is going to be much higher.”

A Dire Need for Political Reform

Doctor Vernon also touched on the idea of a clean sweep, suggesting that other systems could be introduced as part of a broader political reform strategy. These changes would help ensure that a ruling party doesn’t go unopposed in parliament.

Dr. Dylan Vernon, Political Scientist

“So, my proposal and there are many others who, or some others who propose it, Dr. Harold Young, for example, that would change the first-past-the-post system to either one that is fully proportional or a mixed system that is some past-the-post and some proportional, so that there is always an opposition. I think the last time the opposition got about forty percent or forty-plus percent of the popular vote but no seats in the house. If there was some other electoral system that has a proportional aspect to it, the opposition would get some seats if the system was so designed. And so there is no opportunity or chance for a clean sweep and it better represents the people’s interests and votes than a first-past-the-post system that we have. So, if anything out of this clean sweep discussion is let’s not make it happen at all by reforming the electoral system as part of a wider political reform and to make it impossible.”

First Murder Victim of 2025 is Easy-Going Fisherman

The first murder of 2025 happened offshore, claiming the life of fifty-nine-year-old fisherman Godfrey Hyde Junior from Belize City. Hyde was supposed to return home for his birthday at the end of November. When he left on the sixteenth of that month, his family had no idea it would be the last time they’d see him alive. On Saturday morning, Hyde was found shot to death at a fishing camp on the Turneffe Atolls. The Belize Coast Guard was called to the scene and secured it for the police, who arrived later. News Five’s Marion Ali has more on this tragic and unsettling homicide for Hyde’s family.

Voice of: Josephine Neal, Daughter of Deceased

“I hope whatever dehn gone for dehn get, because I know he not mi wa fight, you know. He mi wa give it willingly, even if da something weh probably find, he mi wa give it up. He not gwein hold on to something that doesn’t fit him. He may give it up. So, the reason weh gone kill ah, only he know, maybe there’s more to it. Who knows? Maybe he find something. Maybe he see something, nobody know.”

Marion Ali, Reporting

Josephine Neal shared with News Five that her family is devastated and confused about what could have led to the murder of her father, fifty-nine-year-old Godfrey Hyde, a caretaker and fisherman from Belize City. She recalled that ever since she was a little girl, he would go away for several days and always return home. The last time he was in Belize City, it was to bury a son who had passed away from illness. He had promised to return for his birthday at the end of November, but that day came and went without any word from him.

Voice of: Josephine Neal

“He was supposed to come out for his birthday, whether it be the end of November, the 30th. But for some strange reason, I couldn’t get to him at no given time. I don’t know if that’s because he never had signal, because they have parts of the islands where you have to go certain spots to get the signal. So I don’t know if that was the case at the time. Because I did call her for her birthday, but didn’t get a response.”

Police are still trying to figure out the motive behind the first murder of 2025 and can’t yet say if anything was stolen from the fishing camp. What they do know is that the body was discovered by someone who had come to deliver food.

A.C.P Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division

“Information is that the caretaker of the island was there for a while and someone brought supplies to him, after which the body was found.”

Reporter

“Is it possible that this was a robbery of some kind?”

A.C.P Hilberto Romero

“We do not know at this time. He was there alone at the island and his body was found there.”

Isani Cayetano

“Okay, so I understand that it’s the Coast Guard who initially responded to the information, correct?”

A.C.P Hilberto Romero

“Correct. Yes, the person that took the supplies contacted the Coast Guard, who made checks, they found the body and they called for the police.”

Rear Admiral Elton Bennett told News Five that the Belize Coast Guard was contacted about the discovery around eleven o’clock on Saturday morning.

Rear Admiral Elton Bennett, Commandant, Belize Coast Guard

“Sometime on Saturday around 11 a.m., our forward operating base out at Calabash Caye on Turneffe Atoll reported that they discovered the lifeless body of a fisherman that we later learned to be Mr. Godfrey Hyde. We know him to be a fisherman out at Turneffe Atoll. The patrol visited that area, discovered the body and we called in police and forensics to come out to, to process the scene.”

Bennett mentioned that the area where Hyde was found isn’t typically known for illicit activity and isn’t usually targeted for searches. However, there is a spot several miles north of the crime scene that patrols often frequent due to its reputation for illegal activities.

Rear Admiral Elton Bennett

“We would transit this camp in order to get to that location, but we have never. identify this as a, as a target era for us. So we do not know at this time why any individual would go to that location and commit such a crime. A little bit farther north is an area where there are different characters and yes, drug trafficking is. It is a concern for us in that area and that’s perhaps maybe 10 or 15 miles north from that location.”

As Hyde’s family prepares to lay him to rest, his daughter Josephine shared that she had a bad feeling right after Christmas and confided in her sister about it. Little did she know, the news of her dad’s death would come less than two weeks later.

Voice of: Josephine Neal

“We the clean up and so forth and I the run joke and I the tell ah, I say, I di smell Dads, I di smell ah. Ih say, gial stop di talk fool. I say, but literally I di smell ah, meaning that I know something wrong, yoh understand me? And this da after the Christmas.”

Marion Ali for News Five.

For more information visit

Links: https://edition.channel5belize.com/more-details-on-first-murder-of-2025/

Corozal Family on Edge After Home Targeted by Gunman

Tonight, a family in Corozal is reeling after their home was targeted by a gunman in the early hours of Sunday morning. Reports indicate that Viv Bradley, daughter of sixty-nine-year-old Justice of the Peace Anthony Bradley, and her two children were at their family home when they heard several loud bangs nearby. When Anthony Bradley returned home a few hours later, he found broken glass and bullet holes in his office door. This terrifying ordeal has left the family fearing for their safety and wondering why they were targeted. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with more details.

Britney Gordon, Reporting

For the Bradley family, Saturday evenings usually mean cozying up together in the living room to watch TV. But on January fifth, Viv Bradley was feeling tired and decided to head to bed early, with her two young children following suit. Little did she know this decision might have saved their lives. Just a few hours later, gunfire erupted, targeting their living room. Her father, Anthony Bradley, discovered the bullet holes hours later and shares more about this harrowing experience.

Anthony Bradley, Homeowner

“On Sunday, I came from my farm, where I reside now with my wife to check on my daughter here that lives at our family home. And when I opened the gate and I came in, I observed some glass, broken glass on the floor, and I also observed a hole on the glass door. And so I thought in my mind I said probably somebody threw a stone and as you can see we are close in front of the street. Not far from the street, right? Our house is very close to the street. And so I thought it was somebody that threw the stone and hit the glass and broke the glass. So I showed it to my daughter and I said you know, yeah, I noticed this as somebody threw a stone and broke the glass, not thinking that could have been gunshot. But when I walked out to meet her, I saw she was crying. And then I observed, as you can see here, the bullet shots on the front of my house.”

Bradley, a local Justice of the Peace, recounts that in the early hours of the morning, between midnight and one a.m., his daughter heard several gunshots. Viv never imagined their family home would be the target of such an attack. Paralyzed by fear, she couldn’t call 911 or alert a neighbor. Anthony Bradley is convinced this was a deliberate act.

Anthony Bradley

“If you look at things, the evidence that is on the wall and my office, the person actually came and shot from the street to my office, shot the glass, then more over on the other side of the corner of the fence and purposely emptied about fourteen rounds against the wall and windows.”

The family is now at a loss for what could have prompted the attack and is too terrified to sleep at night. Bradley shared that in his forty-two years of living in the neighborhood, he has never witnessed an attack like this. He has since begun increasing security measures for some peace of mind.

Anthony Bradley

“Why would someone somebody want to harm my family and myself? I don’t know, because I don’t owe anybody. I don’t borrow no money from nobody. I’m not involved in any illegal activities. And so I find it very strange that, and frightening because now I have to be taking, putting in place security cameras on my home making sure that my family’s secure, my children’s from out of harm’s way. So I don’t know what is happening in Corozal. Now we have lawless people roaming around shooting your homes. Never in history have I seen something like this.”

Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident and no items were stolen from the property. Still, the family is shaken up.

Anthony Bradley

“Thank God that no life was lost, and you give God thanks for that. We’re praying for family and friends who have called in support of us. I am taking precautions. Like I said for my home and her children because this is something that has never happened to me like I said I mean my all my life six-nine years living here in Corozal and look at what I’m facing now look this is out of ordinary.”

Neighbors reported hearing a motorcycle speeding away around the time of the attack. Authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward and help bring those responsible to justice.

Anthony Bradley

“What can we say? We are living in an era now when we have to protect our homes. The whole community, we have new people moving into our communities now. When I was growing, all my neighbors, we knew each other. Now we have strangers living among us. Our community is evolving, it’s changing. And so we need to start to take care of our property and our families. Life has changed and we have to change it. Sometimes we don’t even know who to trust now. Because this is the kind of life that we are living now. We can’t trust nobody.”

Britney Gordon for News Five.

House Shot up in Ranchito Village, Residents Concerned

Public safety concerns are mounting in Corozal District after gunmen targeted two homes around the same time. Early Sunday morning, between midnight and one a.m., the Bradley family home was riddled with bullets. Just a five-minute drive away in Ranchito village, another home came under fire. Neighbors reported being jolted awake by the sound of gunfire around twelve-thirty a.m. and quickly alerted authorities. When the police arrived, they found several bullet holes on the side of the building, but the shooter had already fled. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. We spoke with a neighbor of the targeted homeowners, who shared that his family is now living in fear inside their own home.

Voice of: Neighbor

“ I was sleeping about midnight, about twelve-thirty, and suddenly I hear nine or ten shots fired, but then some more down. Then I hurry, got up and I peep and I saw no one and I just hear a gunshot. And then after that, we call the police and the police came quickly. They respond quick. Two mobile came. One came to my place and one gone more down. After that, the other one came and told the other guy to leave. And they leave. Then all the neighbors came out and trying to see what was going on. Then we saw one of our neighbors his house got shot, After that, we got home again to go and sleep back.”

Britney Gordon

“So your neighbor got injured?”

Voice of: Neighbor

“Nobody got injured. Luckily, nobody. Just the house.”

Britney Gordon

“And do you know any reason why something like this might have happened?”

Voice of: Neighbor

“No, ma’am. It’s strange here in Ranchito.”

Britney Gordon

“You’re aware that yesterday another shooting happened nearby up more?”

Voice of: Neighbor

“Yeah, I heard about it on the news.”

Britney Gordon

“You don’t think there might be any connection if there’s someone going around causing trouble in the area?”

Voice of: Neighbor

“I have no, no idea. Here we’re working all day long and suddenly we hear that. We couldn’t sleep after that. We got too anxious. We couldn’t sleep. Nobody could sleep. Everybody’s calling one another. Is everything okay? If they hear no noise or nothing and that passed until morning.”

Britney Gordon

“Life has to resume back after this you guys go back to work continue your day, but do you guys have a feeling of unease or anxiety now just trying to live your life in your usually peaceful neighborhood?”

Voice of: Neighbor

“Here we are working again. Yes, we are scared because we don’t know it’s first time that something happened here in Ranchito, First time. But we are scared. All the neighbors are scared. We don’t know what’s going on. So it will be nice if the police patrol during the night or the day, to see what’s going on. Because people like that, you never know when they can come and attack you.”

Gunfire Heard at the PGIA

More gunfire erupted in the early hours of Sunday morning, this time at the Philip Goldson International Airport cargo warehouse in Ladyville. Just after midnight, security officers on their routine patrol spotted two figures in the distance on the eastern side of the warehouse. The guards called out, warning the intruders to leave the compound. Allegedly, one of the individuals fired a shot in their direction. Fortunately, no one was injured. ACP Hilberto Romero provides more details.

ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division

“On Sunday, the fifteenth of January 2025, police responded to a shooting at the PGIA by the cargo area. Information was received that two security guards were working at the time when they saw persons in the compound. They became concerned and told the persons to leave, at which point they heard a gunshot. The police was called. They came and the persons had already left the area. We are reviewing surveillance footage to try to establish the identity of these two persons. The place was not broken into and nothing was stolen.”

Family Asks for Help in Finding Mason Patnett

A family is desperately seeking your help to find their missing loved one. Thirty-eight-year-old Mason Patnett vanished from his home in Vista del Mar without a trace. Today, his sister Sasha Patnett told News Five that her brother adores his dogs and would never just leave them unattended for days, with the house wide open. She mentioned that they found out about his disappearance from his girlfriend of six months, who arrived on Saturday to find him gone. Sasha shared what she could with us and is pleading for anyone with information about her brother’s whereabouts to contact her at 611-4270.

On the Phone: Sasha Patnett, Sister of Missing Man

“He wasn’t acting strangely or anything. He was posting on his WhatsApp as normal and then he just stopped. We got a call from, we got some messages from his girlfriend letting us know that she came home from wherever she was and he was not at home and the house was open and stuff like that. And he’s not the type of person to do that. He doesn’t leave his house open. He doesn’t, there was food on his stove and it’s really unnatural for him to do that. It’s been two days now, he hasn’t eaten anything. Come home to check on his dogs. And if, if any of anyone who knows my brother knows that he loves his dogs, he will never leave those dogs without someone to take care of them. He didn’t call any of us to let us know because he’s someone if he’s going to go out district, he’s going to call at least one of us.”

A.C.P. Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division

“ A missing person report was made to the Ladyville Police and we are following up on several leads at this time. So far, he has not been found.”

Isani Cayetano

Is it of concern for the investigators the purported manner in which he was either taken from his residence or how he left the residence?

A.C.P Hilberto Romero

“Yes, it is of concern, so we are following it up on it. We have investigators that are following every lead that we have at this time.”

Patnett is described as a slim, 5’7″ Creole man with long, curly hair, a brown complexion, and tattoos on both hands. He was last seen wearing a green shirt and green camouflage cargo shorts. Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at 922 or report to the nearest police station.

For more information visit

Links: https://edition.channel5belize.com/ladyville-man-reported-missing/

Obstruction Trial of Sgt. Walton Banner Begins

The trial of interdicted Sergeant of Police Walton Patrick Banner, thirty-six, kicked off today in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court before a senior magistrate. Sergeant Banner, a resident of Lemonal Village and a member of the Belize Police Department, is accused of obstructing a police officer during an arrest. Allegedly, on April first, 2024, at the Castleton Horse Track in Burrell Boom Village, he prevented Corporal Shane Cabral from arresting Julian Reynolds. The trial began around ten o’clock this morning, with Prosecutor Alifah Elrington calling two of her five witnesses. The trial adjourned at noon and resumed at two p.m. Sergeant Banner is represented by attorney Leeroy Banner. This morning, witnesses PC Mendez and PC Travis Zuniga, part of the Special Patrol Union (S.P.U.) team, testified. PC Mendez recounted that after a horse race, he and his team were dispersing a crowd when they were alerted to a fight in the parking lot. They saw several men fighting and throwing objects. Mendez described seeing a man in a green t-shirt and blue jeans swinging a machete, injuring another man. Corporal Shane Cabral fired a warning shot, causing the crowd to scatter. The officers detained the man with the machete. Mendez testified that while escorting the detainee, he heard someone shout, “Dah you cause all ah dis. You are a Sergeant of Police. You should know better.” He identified the man as Sergeant Banner, who was being boisterous and using insulting words, causing a group of females to surround the police mobile, hindering their duties. The detained individuals were eventually taken to the Ladyville Police Station. Under cross-examination, attorney Banner suggested that PC Zuniga fabricated his testimony, which Zuniga denied. This afternoon, PC Christian Reyes and Corporal Shane Cabral also testified. The prosecution has one more witness to call, and the trial will continue Thursday, January twenty-third, 2025.