Budna Abduction Case Lands Right Back with Police

For those demanding answers in the Joseph Budna abduction, the latest development feels like a step backward. After weeks of public pressure for an independent investigation, Prime Minister John Briceño has now handed the case over to the Director of Public Prosecutions, not a separate, independent body as many had expected.

“I think it’s time to pass it on to the DPP and let them deal with it,” Briceño told reporters on Monday.

He explained that the Attorney General advised there is no legal framework in Belize to establish an independent investigative body, unlike in Jamaica.

The recommendation was presented to the Cabinet on Tuesday, and the Cabinet later confirmed in its briefing that “the police file involving the disappearance of Ryan Joseph Budna be handed over to the Director of Public Prosecutions for action.”

This announcement comes as confidence in the process continues to erode. The police officer accused of helping in Budna’s abduction, Constable Barrington Mai (Flowers) who has denied all allegations, has been taken off interdiction and placed on full-pay suspension.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police Dr. Richard Rosado, who was on a 45-day leave while the department conducted its internal review, was reinstated in September before the 45 days were over.

Attorney Richard “Dickie” Bradley previously said the case is deeply concerning because the very institution responsible for investigating it is itself implicated. “An independent investigation can’t be done by the police because they are one of the suspects in the matter,” he said.