Dear Editor,
It is not surprising that Opposition Member of Parliament Sherod Duncan found himself before the court for his latest transgression.
Host of the “In the Ring” talk show, Sherod Duncan would add to the rising cyber-crime court cases worldwide as, since the start of the pandemic, the number of cybercrime-related incidents in the world has risen to record levels.
Steeped in controversy, Mr. Duncan was arrested by the Police, kept in custody for several hours, but was released on bail. He is being accused by IT Manager at the Guyana Elections Commission, Aneal Giddings, over statements that he allegedly made on his social media talk show. Mr. Giddings complained to the Cyber Crime Unit that during one of Duncan’s talk shows, he, Giddings, was singled out by Duncan and allegedly referred to as a “jaggabat” and “trench crappo,” two demeaning descriptions that are disrespectful, and so caused him significant emotional distress and humiliation.
This kind of posture from MP Sherod Duncan, that is, of using various platforms in social media to fire invectives and derogatory remarks, typifies him. Back in September last year, Sherod Duncan was publicly chided for his “vile, most repugnant onslaught” against Minister Priya Manickchand. Duncan has repeatedly done this, often attacking many of those whose political views do not align with that of his and the APNU/AFC.
In this latest incident, the Police were obligated to act on the complaint, as is prescribed by the very stringent cyber-crime laws passed by the APNU+AFC when they were in Government, and despite many objections.
I hope his situation would culminate in some kind of condign treatment from the court. We can’t say whatever we want about people on a platform like Duncan’s and get away with it because of politics. Duncan has to learn to walk the line responsibly.
Yours truly,
Attiya Baksh
