One week after Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed was arrested following gunfire outside the Kitty home of Senior Superintendent Prem Narine, a key State witness in the US extradition case against him, the WIN leader is out on bail, barred by court order from contacting that witness, and offering an explanation his own party would not give.
WIN’s silence
At a press conference two days after the incident, WIN representatives did not explain why Mohamed was near Narine’s private residence late on the night of October 12, the Guyana Chronicle reported. Asked directly, they said the Opposition Leader would have to account for his own actions, and declined to discuss some aspects of the case, citing legal implications. MP Duarte Hetsberger said medical reports would be provided later. The party presented no medical or video evidence for claims that police mistreated Mohamed in custody.
Mohamed’s account
After his release on Friday, Mohamed told reporters he had been driving through the area after a call from parents about a faulty gate at Ramakrishna Primary School on Middleton Street that he said had injured two children. He said he passed along Barr Street, turned back without stopping, and was then fired on by Narine without provocation. He called the charges concocted and the shooting an assassination attempt, and challenged police to release surveillance footage. “I am concerned for my safety,” he said, according to Kaieteur News.
The police account and the charges
Police say Narine heard what appeared to be a gunshot from a passing tinted car, returned fire, and that officers later found an unlicensed .32 Taurus pistol under the vehicle’s accelerator pedal. Mohamed, his driver Eugene Thorne and videographer Mario Mohamed are jointly charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition without a licence and attempting to pervert the course of justice. They have not been convicted of anything.
Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty granted bail of $250,000 per charge over police objections, noting the defence’s dispute over how the gun was found and the absence so far of CCTV evidence, HGPTV reported. Conditions include surrendering passports and a restraining order barring contact with Narine and his family.
The questions that remain
The defence has raised serious points about the search, and the police should release the footage. But the Opposition Leader also has questions to answer. Why did a man facing extradition proceedings drive at night past the home of the State’s main witness? Why did his party, with days to prepare, not offer the school-gate explanation itself? And how does WIN, as the official opposition, expect to hold government to account while its leader’s legal troubles keep consuming its agenda? A court, not a press conference, will decide the charges. Voters will decide the rest.
Sources
- Guyana Chronicle: WIN fails to address Opposition Leader’s presence near Head of Special Branch’s private home (Oct 15, 2026)
- Kaieteur News: Opposition leader says fearful for life (Oct 18, 2026)
- HGPTV: Magistrate Flags Disputed Gun Search Claim, Missing CCTV Footage in Mohamed Case (Oct 18, 2026)
- Demerara Waves: Police spy chief flagged for central role in Azruddin Mohamed’s court cases (Oct 18, 2026)
Leave a Reply