Working People’s Alliance (WPA) Executive Member,Tacuma Ogunseye has been charged with attempting to excite hostility or ill will on the grounds of race
He appeared at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court today where he pleaded not guilty and was released on $100,000 bail.
Ogunseye had previously proclaimed that should he be charged with exciting racial hostility, he would “plead guilty with explanation”.
Ogunseye, 71, had turned himself in to Police custody on Friday morning in response to a wanted bulletin that was issued for him the previous day by the Guyana Police Force.
According to the bulletin, he was wanted for several serious offences, including attempting to excite racial hostility or ill-will.
On March 9, Ogunseye made several damning remarks on the Buxton Public Road, East Coast Demerara, while he was addressing a public meeting held by his party. Among other racial and divisive remarks, he made at the meeting, the WPA member declared that “the first objective is to get the African team in a state of battle readiness… the Afro-Guyanese Police and soldiers… would stand with Afro-Guyanese in resisting mainly Indo-Guyanese supporting the PPP/C.”
Ogunseye told the gathering among other things “…people tell me that to remove the PPP will be hard and long but I don’t necessarily believe because at the end of the day no government could survive if they don’t have the support of the military and those who carry weapons for the state. The reality is, the army, the police, are majority African Guyanese. Once we organise our people and once we begin to fight we will ensure that our brothers and sisters in uniform will do the right thing and when they do the right thing this matter is over in days and not weeks. It have to be strategic.”
