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Mabaruma, Guyana – The Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID) has strongly condemned the recent arrest of a church musician and other members of the Kingdom Heaven Ministry Pentecostal Church in Region One, Guyana, for allegedly playing music and singing too loudly during a worship service. The incident, which occurred on Saturday, September 21, 2024, has sparked outrage, with CGID labeling it a violation of constitutional rights and an abuse of police powers under political influence.
According to CGID, the Guyana Police Force (GPF), acting under the directive of Region One Police Commander, Superintendent Krishna Ramana, raided the church mid-service following a noise complaint from local businessman Mr. Baharally, described as a government contractor and alleged supporter of the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP). The police intervention led to the arrest of the church’s musician, Rondell Morgrow, along with several other church members, who were subsequently taken to the Mabaruma Police Station.
CGID reports that Morgrow was later charged and released on $20,000 bail. The arrest has been widely condemned, with the CGID accusing the GPF of acting as an extension of the PPP government and following direct orders from Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and other PPP leaders. The institute claims that under the leadership of Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken, the police have become politically compromised and often act at the behest of the PPP.
CGID also highlighted that the conflict between the church and Mr. Baharally has been ongoing for months. Baharally, who owns a business next to the church, has allegedly been harassing the congregation over noise levels, even going as far as telling members “there is no God” and photographing churchgoers. Earlier this year, Baharally lodged a formal complaint with the Police Commissioner and various government ministers.
Despite these complaints, CGID revealed that the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had conducted noise level tests at the church and found that the sound levels produced by the church’s music and sound system were below the legal noise pollution threshold. The fact that church members were still arrested despite these findings has raised serious concerns about the motivation behind the police action.
“This is clearly an abuse of government and police powers,” CGID said in its statement, questioning why the police pursued such drastic measures when the EPA’s report showed no violation of noise regulations. The institute went on to accuse the PPP government of using the police force to enforce “East Indian supremacy” and called for the dismissal of Region One’s Police Commander and the officers involved in the raid.
CGID concluded its statement by condemning what it described as Guyana’s descent into a “dictatorship and violent police state” under the PPP, urging the public and international community to speak out against the regime’s actions.
For the church members, the incident has sparked fears of continued harassment and raised broader concerns about religious freedoms in Guyana. Many see the incident as part of a growing pattern of political overreach in the country, where opposition voices and institutions are increasingly subjected to state-sanctioned crackdowns.
