New Attorney General Abrahams to spearhead reform, tackle gun crime

Newly appointed Attorney General Wilfred Abrahams has pledged to hit the ground running as he takes on one of the country’s most sensitive portfolios, with Prime Minister Mia Mottley signalling that his selection marks the start of a vigorous new push on legislative reform and a bid to arrest surging gun crime.

Abrahams, the Member of Parliament-elect for Christ Church East, took the oath of office at State House a day after the Barbados Labour Party secured all 30 seats in Wednesday’s general election for a third consecutive time.

Under the constitution, the prime minister and the attorney general must be inaugurated first after a general election is concluded.

Speculation over who would assume the powerful post intensified in the days leading up to the polls. Political scientist Devaron Bruce had publicly identified attorneys-at-law Michael Lashley, Gregory Nicholls, and Kerrie Symmonds as leading contenders, while political analyst and regional pollster Peter Wickham predicted Abrahams would emerge as Mottley’s choice.

Speaking to journalists after the swearing-in ceremony, Prime Minister Mottley dismissed the public debate around the selection process, stressing that the appointment rested on trust, competence, and continuity.

“I didn’t hear any of the discussion or debate,” she said. “An attorney general is someone in whom I have to have confidence and legal advice. Mr Abrahams has acted on many occasions on behalf of Dale Marshall who was my first attorney general, and therefore I believe that Mr Abrahams will acquit himself well.”

Mottley also confirmed that Abrahams, the former home affairs minister in the last administration would hold no other ministerial role other than as chief legal adviser, signalling a deliberate separation of responsibilities to sharpen focus on the attorney general’s mandate.

She said: “He will not hold any other portfolio, and that is because I want us to be able to focus in a laser-like fashion on, one, ensuring that the contracts and the agreements that we have to enter into in government are done much more expeditiously so that we can get our projects and programmes through.”

A second priority would be an aggressive pace of legislative reform, Mottley added, noting that while significant progress had already been made, much of Barbados’ legal framework still reflected its colonial origins.

“We have done a hell of a lot of work, but regrettably we live in a different world that requires further modernisation,” Mottley said, pointing to reforms already completed in child justice, child protection, welfare legislation, anti-corruption and integrity laws, judicial appointments, and criminal justice under former Attorney General Marshall.

“But because this country was colonised early and very comprehensively, there is a lot more legislation that needs to be brought into the third decade of the 21st century,” she added.

Against the backdrop of heightened public concern over gun crime in recent years, Abrahams acknowledged the weight of the office and sought to strike a measured tone on the country’s criminal landscape.

“I smile and I thank the Prime Minister for her confidence in me. It is not an easy appointment; it’s actually one of the harder appointments,” he said, while paying tribute to Marshall’s mentorship.

He said: “Dale has been a great mentor for me. I’ve been the only person acting for Dale for the last seven years. So he has been a wonderful mentor, he’s a resource I can actually still draw on. Because of his mentorship of me and my close working with him, it’s going to be a lot easier than if I was coming in cold. So I can hit the ground running.”

Marshall announced his retirement from elective politics late last year.

On crime, Abrahams rejected suggestions that Barbados had reached a point of no return, despite sporadic outbreaks of serious violence.

“We do have little pockets of crime. It is not widespread and there’s a couple people who make it bad for everybody,” he said.

He praised the work of the police, noting that enforcement alone could not always prevent offences but could ensure swift accountability.

“Often times you can’t stop people before they commit action. What you can do is deal with it very quickly afterwards, and the police have had an amazing record of catching persons who have committed crimes.”

He also pointed to growing public cooperation with law enforcement as a critical factor.

“I believe that the public of Barbados has also gotten tired of foolishness. In a number of instances, the persons who the police catch, they’re caught because the public of Barbados informs on them. So, we have the public of Barbados behind us.”

Abrahams said he intended to continue the previous administration’s commitment to fully staffing the police service, adding: “The last attorney general committed to filling all of the vacant posts in the police service. So it is a full maximised police service. I commit to the exact same thing.”

He also framed the new term as a moment of responsibility rather than triumph.

“Barbados is at a turning point,” he said. “We are on an upward trajectory. The first two terms were difficult because of what stabilised in the country, trying to get things under control.

“But the faith that was put in us, we now need to justify that over and over again with everything we do, and every single day as we come to work.”

Abrahams said he was eager to formally meet staff within the ministry and begin work immediately. “There’s a lot of work to be done, but we are accustomed to working hard and we’re looking forward to just getting back in our offices and doing the work for the people for which we were elected.”