Video evidence recorded in Region One hours before a vessel belonging to Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed was detained by law enforcement authorities has contradicted claims by Team Mohamed that the boat was damaged while in the custody of the Guyana Police Force.
Team Mohamed alleged Wednesday morning that the vessel was deliberately damaged after being in police custody for about four hours, posting photographs of damage to the bottom of the boat and accusing the government of being responsible.
“Photos can clearly show the deliberate act by this administration to damage Mohamed’s property,” Team Mohamed claimed. It further alleged that the boat was “purposely left on the dock to damage the bottom or hull,” with the engine foot resting on the dock.
However, video footage posted several hours earlier from the opposition team’s visit to Region One shows what appears to be the same damage already present on the vessel — before it returned to the Demerara River and before police took custody of it.
The video was posted on Facebook by Akim Hercules at 5:36 a.m. Wednesday and showed the vessel during the Region One trip. The footage captured damage in the same area of the boat subsequently highlighted by Team Mohamed in photographs posted at 6:54 a.m. as purported evidence of damage caused while the vessel was detained.
The earlier footage therefore raises serious questions about Team Mohamed’s allegation that the damage occurred during the approximately four hours the boat was under the control of law enforcement authorities. Independent reporting by Demerara Waves also compared images from the two posts and reported that the earlier footage appeared to show the identical damaged area.
Mohamed and several We Invest in Nationhood, or WIN, members of Parliament had travelled to Port Kaituma and Mabaruma on Tuesday before returning to the Demerara River.
According to police, a joint maritime patrol involving the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard and the Police Force observed the “go-fast” vessel travelling along the Demerara River at about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday. Authorities said the vessel failed to stop after being signalled by siren, resulting in a pursuit before it was intercepted at a wharf at Friendship, East Bank Demerara.
The vessel was subsequently taken to the Marine Wing at Ruimveldt, where it was searched. No illegal items were reported found aboard.
Authorities requested the vessel’s registration and certificate of fitness, along with the captain’s licence, but Mohamed did not produce the documents at the time. The Maritime Administration Department subsequently said its records showed that neither the fast craft nor Mohamed was licensed or otherwise authorised to operate.
The dispute over the vessel’s condition emerged hours later when Team Mohamed accused the authorities of deliberately damaging it.
But the timestamped Region One footage places visible damage on the vessel before the police detention, directly undermining the claim that the damage shown in Team Mohamed’s later photographs was caused during the four-hour period in police custody.
Neither Team Mohamed nor WIN had, at the time of publication, publicly explained the earlier video evidence showing the vessel already damaged.