Thanking God- Mohamed, trouncing the GPS

 Thanking God- Mohamed trouncing the GPS

OPINION BY : GHK LALL November 2026

It is a positive that Guyana’s Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Azruddin Mohamed did what I called for in Village Voice on Nov 5, 2026, (“Mohamed tortured: he must clear the air”).  He did just that: “Mohamed swears he is locked in prison cell nearly 24 hours daily” (Kiskadee Watch, Nov 6-2026).  There can be no better clearing of the air than that, and with added reinforcement of a sworn oath tendered to Guyana’s High Court.  Now, the spotlight swings swiftly and focuses sharply on the Guyana Prison Service (GPS).  It went high (no torture).  Now the GPS has to go low to dig itself out of a hole.

The GPS said that Mr. Mohamed is a ‘high-profile’ prisoner.  Apparently, that comes with a special package.  The high-profile prisoner swore in his affidavit to: bright lights on continuously, continuous detention, poor ventilation, among other grievances and violations.  If that’s the treatment meted out to a prisoner with the high-profile rating of Mohamed, then I find myself thinking of what could be delivered to a low-profile one, such as a Gavin Douglas.  The GPS has some explaining to do, and it is considerable.  Was ‘high-profile’ a figure of speech, a construction made up on the run?  Could it be claimed that Mr. Mohamed went a bit overboard in affidavit?  Or, that he is playing politics, even in prison?  I call this, as I see it.

First, the Mohamed family is due some fair space and even consideration.  Ms. Mohamed’s press revelations rocked.  The PPP Govt wouldn’t go that far; wouldn’t take that risk.  Let’s face it: there’s no higher profile prisoner in Guyana’s dungeons than Azruddin Mohamed.  For any partisan that objects to dungeons, explain his custodial conditions, please.  There’s something medieval and primeval about all of this: we (the PPP) can do this and get away with it.  We (the PPP) are going to break you and get you (Mohamed).  Or any Guyanese that crosses the PPP’s path, slows its express gravy train.

Second, the sister spoke.  Now the brother-leader confirmed most of what his sibling said.  The GPS has no goodwill left.  It has egg and feces on its face.  The PPP Govt is in infinitely worse shape.  It has politicized and weaponized the Guyana’s Police, Guyana’s media, elements in Guyana’s jurist pool.  Now Guyana’s Prisons seemingly have also been converted and operate at the behest of the PPP Govt.  Do so openly, slavishly.  The exposures denounce.  It’s not standard prison ops.  The Prison people and PPP have an uphill task before them.  Democracy and the draconian don’t go hand in hand.  Lawfulness and lawlessness are not children from the same mother.

Third, when sibling Hana Mohamed split the air with her bombshell, I said this can’t be.  Not so much.  Not all at once.  When Mr. Mohamed himself took some time to corroborate his sister’s torture report, my reaction was human: what’s going on here?  Now, that the Opp Leader has cleared the air, the family is due some trust.  The man did swear, didn’t he?  Relative to the PPP Govt, it is in such a deficit wherever doubt and trust have a role play, it just can’t recover.  Who would believe that the PPP would be so blatant, go that far?  Not I.  The PPP through its prison agencies thought itself clever.  No physical evidence on Mr. Mohamed’s body.  Try this: the torture evidence is on his mind stretched agonizingly, with every intention to split him in pieces.

From this and other development, the PPP and those that it empowers to do its dirty jobs have a distinction that is well-earned: coldblooded.  And another: calculating.  And still one more: barbaric. 

Are these not the people that speak smugly of the rule of law?  Of standards and procedures.  Apparently, there are unwritten ones.  How much more of these atrocities are Guyanese prepared to absorb? 

One prisoner dead via an extrajudicial killing.  Another tortured.  Did the State Department lend Office of the President the manual on Guantanamo?  Abu Ghraib could be held in reserve.