Protesters call for ministers’ resignation until thorough investigation into Mahdia dorm fire is completed

May 30, 2023 News

Some scenes from the protest yesterday

Kaieteur News – A handful of citizens on Monday protested in front the Office of the President, located on Vlissengen Road, Georgetown, calling for the resignation of the ministers of Amerindian Affairs, Education, Local Government and Regional Development and Home Affairs.

The protestors believe that the ministers are equally responsible for the death of the 19 children who died in a fire at the Mahdia Secondary School female dormitory on May 21, 2023. The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) said that that the ill-fated Mahdia Secondary School female dormitory had ‘26 heavily grilled windows and five doors that were padlocked.’

At the time of the fire, there were 57 female students in the dormitory which is a one-flat concrete building measuring about 100 feet by 40 feet.

The protest occurred while the 15-year-old teenage suspect made her first court appearance via zoom before Magistrate Sunil Scarce and was remanded to the Juvenile Holding Centre located in Georgetown. The teen was slapped with 19 counts of murder charges.

Executive member of A New and United Guyana (ANUG), Kian Jabour, was among the protesters who called for “other” to be held accountable not only the child who reportedly started the fire.

During an interview with this publication, Jabour said, “This protest here today is to have accountability for those responsible… who were supposed to keep the children safe that perished in the Mahdia fire.”

Jabour said the accused is a minor and all the blame should not be at the child’s feet because there were no emergency mechanisms in place adding “that is a crime in its own.”

He argued that a fire could have started due to other causes and noted that casting the blame on a child who may have made a mistake or was not in a good mental state at the time is unfair.

Jabour believes strongly that the investigation into the fire needs to examine why the children were unable to escape the burning building and called for the ministers responsible for the welfare of the children who occupied the Mahdia Secondary School female dormitory to temporarily step down from their posts to allow for an independent investigation to be conducted.

Further, Jabour assured that the protest will continue until the government decides to take action.

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