IndecentExposurevsRape: Whichwarrantspublicprosecution?

Dear

EDITOR,

There is an old saying that “those who are not knowledgeableofhistoryare boundtorepeatit.”

This seems to be the situation that the currentAli administration when previously occupied office and now again has resorted to oppressive and terror tacticsofprivatecitizensand members of the opposition. The recent saga of a video followed by the arrest of the accused Former Minister of Public Infrastructure and AFC parliamentarian the Hon David Patterson of indecent exposure in the publicreekstomfooleryeven in my nonpartisan capacity This effort to distract the Guyanese public from the cover up of the alleged rape performed by the former Minister of Local Government and Regional Development will not go away without justice for members of the indigenous community themselves publicly in the corners of roadways and alleys. While it is not a civilized form of public convenience, it has become part of the bathroom culture of which members of the current government can alludeto.

We may not be aware of thefulldetailsofthealleged discourse between Former Minister Patterson and a citizen but one will find the arrest and charge of the Minister as a waste of government personnel and time that should have been executed effectively by chargingoftheallegedrapist FormerMinister

Under the Sexual OffencesAct8:03section28 (1)(a) and (b) states “ A person the accused commits the offence of exposure of genitalsiftheaccusedIntentionallyexposesthe genitalsoftheaccused;and Intends that someone will see the genitals of the accusedandbecausedalarm anddistress” discriminatory bias has no limits for my analysis without having legal credentialssuggestsitishard to prove that the defendant who was publicly relieving himself had shown intent to exposehisgenitalsandthere has been no account or evidence suggesting distress or alarm in the event of relievinghimself.

Any government whose aimistosuppressthevoices ofitspeopleandmembersof the government is disturbing.

Thepublicoughttoknow that bad men succeed when good men standby and do nothing.

It is imperative that at this moment we raise our voicesandactionsinagainst thesediscriminatoryandvile actsbeforethestatebecomes moreautocratic.

If the President is serious about his record of t r a n s p a r e n c y , accountability and lack of racialbiasesgoingintothe 2025 elections then he needed to ask the Minister on the account of the allegations of rape to resign immediately f o l l o w e d b y a n investigation in which the director of public prosecutions (DPP) acting professionally and laying charges based on the alleged rapist under the premise of having an underage teenager in his private home and his efforts in the aftermath to obstructjustice.

ThePresidentwhoprides himself in “One Guyana” ought to know that we have always been “One People, One Nation and One Destiny” but political entities as the one he leads tends to use racial manipulation and party politics to suppress and disenfranchise members of the opposition and their associates while enriching their friends and family circles.

This implies “One Guyana” for a particular assortmentofpeople.

ThankYou, Collin Haynes, MPH, MBA