While a nation mourns, a minister boasts

Oct 30, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor,

In the aftermath of the horrific bombing at the Georgetown gas station that claimed the life of six-year-old Soraya Bourne, Guyana stands at a crossroads of conscience. Her mother, Samantha Roach, could barely speak through her thick grief: “I need justice. My daughter didn’t deserve this.” Another relative described a night of chaos and silence at the hospital: surgeries, broken bones, and unanswered questions. “We could have lost an entire family,” she said, “and no one came to us, no one said anything.”

Yet, even as the Bourne family struggled to make sense of their loss, Minister of Home Affairs Oneidge Walrond took to the mic on October 28 to declare that the government’s crime-solving technology had “worked wonders.” She credited “tremendous investment” under her administration for producing a “major breakthrough” within 72 hours. For the grieving family, those words must have felt hollow. What “wonders” could possibly exist when a child’s life is snuffed out in the capital city, and the perpetrators remain shrouded in confusion and contradiction?

That confusion deepens when one listens to the public. On social media, Guyanese like Mark Moseley voiced raw disbelief: “You mean to tell me a man travelled by boat from Venezuela and carried out a bombing that same day?” He detailed how such a journey would take more than a day and require refuelling stops, accusing the authorities of “insulting our collective intelligence.” His post resonated because it captured a truth many feel – that the state’s story is collapsing under the weight of its own implausibility. For all the talk of technology and vision, what the public sees instead is a country unprotected and a leadership unwilling to level with its people.

And while the government insists on controlling the narrative, the press itself is being muzzled. At the same press conference, when veteran journalist Gordon Moseley attempted to question Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken about the detention of Muslim British nationals at the airport, the moderator tried to deflect. Moseley, visibly frustrated, exclaimed: “The Commissioner don’t speak to the press!” capturing in that moment the exasperation of an entire profession. Reporters reminded the room that the Commissioner has not faced open questioning in three years. The exchange underscored a dangerous pattern, one where government triumphalism replaces transparency, and those who dare to ask questions are dismissed or ignored.

At the heart of this tragedy lies a deepening disconnect between state performance and public pain. A mother cries for justice. A minister celebrates “wonders.” Citizens scoff at an unbelievable tale. And journalists, the last line between power and the people, are left shouting into silence. Guyana deserves better, not polished press statements, but truth, empathy, and accountability. The life lost demands it.

Regards,
Sherod Duncan

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