Opposition MP to appear in court today on cybercrime charge

Jul 16, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson, is slated to make her first court appearance this morning before a City Magistrate in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts for a cybercrime charge.

Opposition MP, Annette Ferguson.

According to Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, the MP will be charged in relation to a Facebook post in which she reportedly made false allegations against a high-ranking member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
Ferguson was arrested on June 30, 2021, after a senior member of the GDF made a report against her alleging that she made false allegation against him in a Facebook post. She was later released on her own recognisance [self-bail] pending the outcome of the investigation into the matter.
However, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in an updated release on the matter yesterday stated that legal advice was obtained from the Police Legal Officer to institute a charge of using a computer system to humiliate a person, contrary to Section 19 (5) (a) of the Cyber Crime Act, against the Opposition MP.
Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon, had issued a statement in relation to the MP’s arrest. Harmon had condemned the arrest and also shared his view that members of the GPF had arrested Ferguson on false grounds and also called the arrest a clear case of political harassment.
The police in an initial release on the matter had stated that the GDF rank’s allegation is that Ferguson falsely alleged in a Facebook post that the said GDF rank would be in charge of a ‘killing squad.’
Kaieteur News understands that Ferguson’s post which refers to “setting up of Death Squad and Black Clothes groups” stemmed from discussions had during the considerations of Financial Paper 2/2021 during the parliamentary session on June 14, 2021.
During the debate, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, told the House that the concept of the Regional Joint Support Teams is a new crime-fighting initiative formulated in April 2021, and that the supplementary provision for the period ending December 2021 is to “set up” the initiative.
The Government MP had explained that the Regional Joint Support Teams will not denigrate or usurp the functions of the GDF or the GPF, but is intended to enhance the capacity of the law enforcement agencies in Guyana to fight crime, regardless of the type of crime, with the support of the GDF.
However, following that parliamentary session, an online news agency published a story headlined, “Exclusive: PPP secures $250 million budget to resuscitation Black Clothes Death Squad.” The Opposition MP subsequently shared the article with her own commentary. Both the Joint Services Coordinating Council (JSCC) and the Ministry of Home Affairs had condemned the Opposition MP’s post and cautioned citizens against the “reckless and irresponsible social commentary.”