Georgetown, Guyana — In the wake of public outrage over the fatal police shooting of 23-year-old Ronaldo Peters in Linden, the Leader of the Opposition, PNCR, and Chairman of the APNU has issued a strong condemnation of what he described as an “extrajudicial killing” and called for an urgent independent investigation.
The Opposition Leader declared that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is “compromised and cannot be trusted to investigate itself,” raising the stakes in what is rapidly escalating into a national controversy. Peters, who was reportedly unarmed and attempting to flee when police opened fire, has become the latest symbol of what many perceive as a deepening crisis of policing in the country.
“Let us not forget,” the Opposition Leader reminded, “that an international inquiry previously found the GPF culpable of extrajudicially killing three innocent Lindeners.” He emphasized that this latest incident follows a troubling pattern of unchecked police violence and signals an erosion of democratic guardrails under the Ali/Jagdeo administration.
Extending condolences to Peters’ family and the Linden community, the Opposition pledged solidarity in what was described as a “senseless loss of life.”
“We are deeply concerned that the Ali/Jagdeo regime is destroying all the guardrails of democracy and hurtling Guyana towards dictatorship,” the Opposition Leader asserted, accusing the government of politicizing and weaponizing the police force. “Some policemen have concluded that they can kill young Guyanese men, who are vulnerable and poor, and then be protected by the Ali/Jagdeo cabal.”
The statement named previous controversial police killings — Quindon Bacchus and Orin Boston among them — to illustrate what the Opposition described as a disturbing normalization of extrajudicial killings under the current government.
Further, the Opposition Leader drew attention to “serious allegations of bribery and corruption against [Vice President] Jagdeo,” which, he claimed, the police have failed to investigate — a sign, he argued, of a force captured by political interests.
He issued a stark warning: “The time is nigh when the Guyana Police Force must be depoliticized and allowed to return to being a professional institution, not operate based on the dictates of the present regime.”
While emphasizing that no one should be shielded from justice, the Opposition Leader underscored the importance of upholding due process and the presumption of innocence. “We will not condone or protect anyone who is alleged to have committed a crime. However, we believe the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty should be upheld.”
The call ends with a clear demand; a return to the rule of law and an end to what he termed the People’s Progressive Party’s “domination and control” of the police and other constitutionally mandated independent institutions.
As protests swell in Linden and across the country, public pressure mounts for accountability and systemic reform. The government has yet to respond formally to the accusations leveled by the Opposition.
This story is developing.
