Threat to shoot President being investigated- Minister Harmon

GINA, Guyana, Thursday, April 20, 2017

The Cabinet and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) are aware of a reported threat made against President David Granger’s life, Minister of State Joseph Harmon reported to the media today.

The Minister at a post- Cabinet media briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency, gave this answer in response to a question posed by reporters about the claims of a plot to shoot the Head of State for a bounty of $7M. The media was informed that the threat, which was discussed at the last Cabinet meeting on April 18, has garnered the attention of the GPF which has launched an investigation.

Minister Harmon stated that legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecution’s Chambers has also been sought on the issue, but declined to give further details, noting that an investigation was already underway.

He pointed out that, “Security is not something you play with. The professional people know what they do and they put certain measures in place.”

Asked about a possible motive, Minister Harmon proffered that President Granger enjoys popularity across the country.  The Minister of State noted however, “It’s important we understand while we have a popular president, that people all around this country love him and embrace him, that sometimes, there are some people who are misguided by what they see on Facebook and they’re copycat type of issues. Therefore we always have to be careful.”

Minister Harmon expressed his confidence that the security forces can protect the Head of State and all other government ministers. He made it clear that the information provided thus far is what has been revealed by the GPF’s administration.

By: Paul McAdam