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Pastor fired after cutlass rampage
…church apologises to nation
(Kaieteur News) – The Universal Church’s governing board has terminated the services of one of its pastors for his aggressive and threatening public display, while maintaining that his actions in no way represent the church.
In a viral video which has dominated social media spaces over the last two days, the pastor is seen in a heated argument with a man who had parked his car at a parking space in front of the church. The pastor held firmly that it was a private parking zone for the church, and after a few seconds of ineffective tit-for-tat, exploded into a fit, while positioning himself behind the man’s vehicle and daring him to “get inside the car!” and run him over.
The pastor was relieved of his duties at the Universal Church
Backed by several members of his congregation, two of whom also confronted the driver in a fierce verbal exchange, the pastor also brandished a cutlass, in an apparent threat to the driver. The pastor’s outburst has received widespread condemnation from the public.
City officials promptly struck down the pastor’s claim of exclusive parking.
The president of the religious organisation, Dillipchan Bikharie, last evening apologised on behalf of his local team to President Irfaan Ali, Prime Minister Mark Phillips, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, and the entire population for the incident.
A day after the incident, workers attached to the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) cleared the pavement at the corner of Charlotte and Wellington Streets.
Kidackie Amsterdam, who later identified as the driver in the video, told the press that the situation exposes the need for regularisation of parking spots in the city. “I was the person involved in my humble opinion this is a matter that needs to be followed by the media. The issue of parking and non-parking is an aggravating one. The video demonstrates what kind of aggravation and situation which can arise out of the situation.”
Shortly after the video went viral, the city engineer’s department was promptly deployed to the location and cleared the area of all encumbrances found on the city parapet. In a statement released via Facebook, the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) sought to remind the citizens that no permission is granted for the placement of “No Parking” signs or any form of encumbrances on city parapets, roadways, or public spaces. The city council urged residents and businesses to comply with its regulations to ensure order, accessibility and the safe use of public thoroughfares. City Mayor, Alfred Mentore in a follow up statement clarified that the Universal Church was never granted any special concession for reserve parking spaces. “… Let me make clear, this council has never given the Universal Church any parking, the Universal Church has never applied to this council for them to have any reserved parking space by this council,” the city mayor clarified.
The mayor expressed concern and disappointment that the pastor acted out of character. “So, it is very erroneous for the pastor to speak so vociferously about reserved parking, and to appear to have reserved parking, or have reserved parking from this council. I was very disappointed when I saw the pastor behaving with such anger, acting outside of the norm.” Mentore said that he was happy that city workers were able to act swiftly to remove the encumbrance and signs.
“We will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the area is cleared that anybody can park at any time. And we want to make it clear that we have never stopped use of the pavement and that we will never consider giving that concession especially with how the pastor behaved,” Mentore added.
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