UDP Chairman Pushes Back on Shyne Barrow’s Claims About His Father

The public fallout inside the United Democratic Party is not limited to the resignations of Juliet Thimbrel and Audrey Wallace. UDP Chairman Sheena Pitts is also taking issue with comments made by former party leader Moses “Shyne” Barrow about his father, former Prime Minister Dean Barrow.  During a recent appearance on The Jason Lee Show in the United States, Shyne described his father as a “deadbeat” and said the two no longer speak. He claimed Dean Barrow played little part in raising him and spoke about the pain he carried from their strained relationship.  Pitts says Shyne’s account leaves out important parts of their history. She pointed to several occasions when the former prime minister stood by his son, particularly during Shyne’s imprisonment in the United States and the legal battle surrounding his release and deportation to Belize.

Sheena Pitts, UDP Chairwoman: “The Right Honourable Dean Barrow when his son was charged and prosecuted in a United States court, he attended court every day, we saw him. After his son was incarcerated and institutionalized for all those years the Right Honourable Dean Barrow visited him and made him have a soft landing in Belize after he was deported. I will go further. The Right Honorable Dean Barrow came to the United Democratic Party and enjoined his fellow UDP to help hug and shoulder his fallen son. And so the Right Honorable Dean Barrow had conversations with other people who were politically ambitious to step aside to have his son run in the Mesopotamia division. That move was supported by his maternal uncle Michael Finnegan. The UDP supported both Michael Finnegan and the Right Honorable Dean Barrow at that time. You will also recall that the Right Honorable Dean Barrow gave his son ambassadorship, music ambassador, an office for which he received a salary and to which arguably some may say who benefited from his ambassadorship during his time of ambassadorship. I go further. The Right Honorable Dean Barrow as a father maintained support to his child and and ensured that his child won by a mere two in the leadership convention as against the honorable Tracy Taegar-Panton. Now with that backdrop I am sure, as I am told, he has been on the international media. You have seen him on social media speak the worst of a father who has done everything to secure his transition and keep his head above water. You have seen him berate his brother who does no one anything in the political sphere. You have seen him also say out of his mouth, call the Right Honorable Dean Barrow a deadbeat father. Now I say to you ladies and gentlemen members of the media, that person who can say that about his own father and his own brother is a person you must now absolutely reject and evict from the recesses of your mind.”

When Shyne was facing deportation in 2009, then Prime Minister Dean Barrow appealed to the Governor of New York for a pardon and supported efforts to secure legal assistance for his son. Pitts says those actions do not support the picture Shyne presented to an international audience.