The Ministry of the Presidency (MOTP) says it finds today’s page 9 headline in the Guyana Times to be slanderous and libellous.

The headline: ‘High-profile sexual assault – President accused of covering up case’, was published today, January 24, 2017 and the Ministry of the Presidency wants the newspaper to immediately withdraw this headline and offer an apology to the Head of State.

This reported allegation was made by former President and Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who noted that President David Granger was fully informed about an alleged incident of sexual assault, yet failed to take any action against the accused.

“This reported allegation…apart from being slanderous and libellous shows a clear misunderstanding of how Guyana’s criminal justice system works and the presumption of innocence that is a legal right of an accused.

“The former President is fully aware that it is unlawful for the Head of State, who is the head of the Executive Branch of Government to intervene (or take action against those culpable) in matters that are before the Courts (the Judicial Branch of government) or criminal matters under active investigation,” the release from the Ministry of the Presidency noted.

The release further noted that contradictory to the slanderous and libellous headline, the Guyana Times, in the same article, also reported that the Commander of ‘F’ Division of the Guyana Police Force, Mr. Ravindradat Budhram said that a file was compiled on the alleged matter and that it has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for instituting charges against the accused.