THE Ministry of the Presidency has rejected what it described as “the malicious and wicked publishing of false articles” relating to the health of President David Granger by Guyana Guardian, an online media outfit operated by well known conman Dennis Adonis.
The online entity published a story titled, ‘President cannot speak- Cancer is in the throat’ on Sunday. The Ministry of the Presidency (MoTP) said despite issuing several press releases and videos of the Head of State on the issue of his health, the Guyana Guardian continues to spread fake news via its website and Facebook page with the intent of causing public mischief and panic.

“President Granger has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and not throat cancer as is being suggested by the online media outfit. He is currently being treated in the Republic of Cuba by specialists,” the ministry said. In fact, President Granger, along with his wife, First Lady Mrs. Sandra Granger, departed Guyana for Cuba to undergo a second round of treatment at the Centro de Investigaciones Médico Quirúrgicas (CIMEQ), the MoTP said.

The MoTP said prior to his departure, the President explained that CIMEQ has drafted a schedule of treatment which will run until May 2019. After his second round of treatment, the President is expected to return to Cuba later this month to begin the third cycle of chemotherapy. “While the Government of Guyana respects the fundamental right of its citizens to freedom of speech, as well as press freedom, it condemns in the strongest possible way, the publishing of misinformation [and] untruths,” the MoTP said.

The Ministry of the Presidency called on members of the public not to be duped by the misinformation. Adonis is no stranger to controversy. In 2010, he was charged with fraudulently converting $542,000 to his personal use after he had been entrusted with the money to purchase 100 modems. Adonis had also collected money from the wider public a few years ago under the pretext that he was bringing professional World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestlers from the US to Guyana. That scheme collapsed after it was exposed by the media. Other scams included the promised provision of a wireless communication service, the Royal Antigua money transfer service, which collected people’s money from overseas but failed to deliver same in Guyana; and there were numerous so-called training schemes including a fake institution for training of air stewards.

He had also claimed to be an internationally recognised journalist who contributes to the popular Huffington Post, Yahoo and CNN. The “international journalist” boasted of being among the first wave of journalists on the ground in Liberia during the Ebola crisis, and on the front-lines in Crimea during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. He also claims to have authored 20 published books in at least five different languages.