— Attorney slams Stabroek News for misquoting comments to back US-indicted Azruddin Mohamed
President of the Guyana Bar Association, Kamal Ramkarran, has publicly rebuked Stabroek News over what he described as sensationalised and misleading reporting, calling out the newspaper for misquoting his comments and politicising a constitutional issue to advance a slanted narrative.
In a letter to the editor published by Stabroek News, Ramkarran took issue with an article headlined “Attorney Kamal Ramkarran calls for the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition,” published on January 16, 2026.
He said the headline falsely attributed a position to him that he did not take and distorted comments he gave at the request of a reporter.
“The calling for something is the taking of a positive action in the hope and expectation that it will bear fruit. I did not call for that appointment,” Ramkarran wrote, stressing that he merely shared his view on the constitutional importance of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and fully expected the matter to be resolved in due course through parliamentary procedures.
Ramkarran said he anticipated that the Leader of the Opposition would be elected at a meeting convened by the Speaker of the National Assembly and therefore had no reason to “call” for such an appointment.
He expressed disappointment that what he intended as contextual commentary was, instead, “politicised and sensationalised.” The senior attorney went further, questioning whether Stabroek News still adheres to the journalistic standards for which it was once known.
“I suppose this experience teaches me that Stabroek News is not the same as it was in the 1990s,” Ramkarran wrote, recalling that his father frequently provided context to the newspaper at the request of reporters, resulting in stronger reporting that was “never sensationalised or politicised.”
He urged the newspaper to withdraw and correct the claim that he called for the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition, stating plainly that “that call never happened.”
The letter comes amid broader public criticism of Stabroek News, where the newspaper has previously been called out for framing stories in a manner perceived as favourable to U.S.-indicted businessman Azruddin Mohamed.
In this instance, rather than issuing an apology or formal correction, Stabroek News quietly altered the headline of the article on its online platform. However, the original headline remains unchanged in the printed edition, raising further concerns about transparency and accountability in the newspaper’s editorial practices.
Ramkarran ended his letter by expressing hope that the publication has not drifted so far from its earlier standards that it is unwilling to acknowledge and correct factual misrepresentation. Up to the time of this publication, there has been no retraction or apology by the newspaper and Ramkarran’s response was carried in its letters column only.
