Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed’s claim that his “go-fast” vessel was not working has been contradicted by video showing the same boat operating in Region One hours before authorities said it was involved in a high-speed pursuit, one of several apparent contradictions emerging from an almost four-hour livestream on the Team Mohamed’s social media page.
Mohamed made the claim while speaking to ranks of the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard as authorities sought to conduct checks on the vessel.
“The first thing is, this vessel not even working; that’s why it’s in the water here, for the mechanic to check this vessel,” Mohamed told the ranks. “What you want to check on this vessel, what you want search?”
Video recorded earlier in Region One, however, shows the vessel underway with Mohamed and several We Invest in Nationhood members of Parliament aboard.
The vessel later became the subject of a joint Guyana Police Force and Coast Guard operation after authorities said its operator failed to comply with instructions to stop, triggering a high-speed pursuit before it was eventually intercepted.
Another contradiction surrounds Mohamed’s claim that the vessel was damaged while in police custody.
Mohamed and members of his team alleged that damage to the boat occurred after authorities took possession of it. However, video footage from Region One hours before the interception shows damage already visible on the vessel, contradicting claims that the damage was caused while the boat was detained.
Those are among a number of apparent contradictions emerging from statements Mohamed made during the nearly four-hour livestream on the Team Mohamed’s page as the incident unfolded.
During the broadcast, Mohamed and others repeatedly challenged the actions and accounts of police and Coast Guard ranks. However, portions of the livestream, together with videos recorded before the interception and official accounts of the pursuit, have raised questions about several of the assertions made during the broadcast.
Authorities have said the vessel was unlicensed and was intercepted after it failed to stop when instructed.
Mohamed has not explained how a vessel he publicly described as “not even working” had been operating in Region One earlier that day and was later allegedly involved in a high-speed pursuit. His team has also not reconciled its claim that the vessel was damaged while in police custody with footage appearing to show the damage before authorities intercepted it.
The discrepancies have placed increased scrutiny on Mohamed’s account of the events surrounding the vessel’s operation, pursuit and eventual interception.