IN light of the recent accusations leveled against Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman by a young man, Johnny Welshman Jnr., who claims he was sexually abused by Trotman, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Clement Rohee assured the media last Tuesday that his party “had no part to play in that.”

Last Friday, the shocking revelations were made by the now 22-year-old man who claimed that at the age of 13, he was molested by the Speaker.

ALLEGATIONS DENIED
Trotman has, however, issued a statement dismissing the allegations and tying them to political motives, more specifically, the No-Confidence Motion which is to be debated in the National Assembly next month.

“Conveniently, such scandalous assertions are obviously intended to provide a timely distraction from the serious prevailing political situation in Guyana, which imminently requires me as Speaker of the National Assembly to guide the ship of the nation’s Parliament through the strongest test to Guyana’s constitutional democracy: the debate of a No-Confidence Motion,” the Speaker said.
Trotman had also described the allegations as malicious and unfounded “by an unstable young man who, sadly, appears to have a troubled mind. I categorically deny his wicked assertions.”
The lad has however maintained that his revelations were not politically motivated and that after years of enduring the torture, he has finally decided to speak out against what he describes as “wrongdoings” against him.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES
As conspiracy theories continue to erupt in efforts to pin the recent revelations by the alleged victim to a political party, the PPP General Secretary has held his head high, assuring that his party had no part to play in this.
Rohee said also that the role of some sections of the media can be described as “convenient” since some sections refuse to reveal social issues enveloping the country. He noted that whenever an Opposition supporter or actor seems to be “embroiled” in public issues, they are usually spared by some sections of the media in efforts to minimize the unearthing of wrongdoings.
However, when Government officials are caught in scandals or find themselves at the core of social issues, Rohee noted, they are never spared by these same sections of the media.
He maintained, however, that the PPP would not stoop to that level and should not be accused in anyway of having any part to play in these recent revelations.