The local motor-racing fraternity has been plunged into mourning following the passing of motorsport legend, stalwart and pioneer Errol Tenpow.

Errol’s family members confirmed his passing on Tuesday.

The Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC), in a statement, expressed condolences to the family and those affected by Tenpow’s passing.

“His passion for motorsport, unwavering dedication, and lifelong support helped shape the racing community we proudly celebrate today. More than a pioneer, he was a mentor, an inspiration, and a treasured part of our motorsport family,” the GMR&SC said.

The club added that Errol’s “legacy will continue to live on in the hearts of those he inspired and in the sport to which he dedicated so much of his life.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and loved ones during this difficult time. Rest in peace, Errol Tenpow. Your contributions to Guyana’s motorsport will never be forgotten.”

Source: NEW ROOMS SITE

The National Sports Commission (NSC) has thrown its support behind a community dominoes competition scheduled for October 25 on Leopold Street, Georgetown, as the organisation continues to encourage community engagement and grassroots sporting activities.

Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle confirmed the NSC’s support following a meeting with community representatives Shonnette Lawrence and Theressa DaSilva at his Main Street, Georgetown office.

The meeting followed a request made during a previous engagement between Ninvalle and members of the community, highlighting the importance of maintaining dialogue between sports administrators and community-based groups.

Ninvalle said community engagement remains an important priority for the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and, by extension, the NSC, noting that such interactions provide opportunities to identify and support initiatives that bring people together through sport and recreation.

He welcomed the opportunity to assist with the upcoming competition and expressed his willingness to continue working with community members on similar initiatives.

Ninvalle indicated that the Commission was happy to support the Leopold Street event and looked forward to collaborating with residents in other areas to promote community development through sporting and recreational activities.

Source: NEW ROOMS SITE

Reigning Guyana Cup champion Sand Pipes will return to horse racing action on Sunday, November 29, at the Rising Sun Turf Club.

Sand Pipes, from the Jumbo Jet Racing Stables, will be aiming to extend its unbeaten dominance in Guyana at next month’s race.

The 2026 President’s Cup is expected to see the return of a similar competitive atmosphere as the Guyana Cup, with the likes of Jumbo Jet, Master Z, Slingerz and Js Racing Stables bringing the heat to the track.

Most of the horses will be heading into the President’s Cup fresh from the Showdown of Champions stakes.

For the jockeys it will be the battle between the veteran Colin Ross, who leads the points table, and champion jockey for 2025, Yovin Kissonchand.

According to Ross, the preparation has been smooth thus far, and he is hoping for a strong finish to the 2026 racing season.

“I’m looking forward for some good rides in the last three meets this year and keep the points going,” Ross said.

The top jockey, who has been working closely with the current Guyana Cup winner Sand Pipes, confirmed that the top horse will be ready to rumble at the President’s Cup.

In addition to Sand Pipes, I’m Sam from Js Racing Stables, Santorini and Vitruvian, who were the other top finishers at the Guyana Cup, will be in action at the President’s Cup.

Source: NEW ROOMS SITE

The Court of Appeal has reserved its ruling in the constitutional challenge brought by Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and his father, businessman Nazar Mohamed, against provisions of Guyana’s extradition law, following oral arguments on Tuesday.

The hearing proceeded in Azruddin Mohamed’s absence, as he remains in custody over the shooting incident near the home of Head of the Special Branch, Prem Narine. His father, Nazar Mohamed, attended the proceedings, along with his sister.

Roysdale Forde appeared for the Mohameds, alongside attorney Damien DaSilva, while Attorney General Anil Nandlall appeared in person to defend the legislation. Siand Dhurjon was also present.

The matter was heard by Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Roxane George, Justice of Appeal Rishi Persaud and Justice of Appeal Nareshwar Harnanan.

At the close of the hearing, Chancellor George indicated that the ruling could take some time, reminding the parties that the Court of Appeal has up to one month to deliver its judgment.

The appeal centres on whether Guyana’s extradition framework adequately protects the two men from being surrendered to a third country without the consent of the relevant minister, and whether the legislation gives the executive excessive discretion in deciding whether to extradite a person.

The United States is seeking the Mohameds’ extradition to face criminal charges.

On Tuesday, Forde argued that the law must clearly distinguish between two separate protections: the principle of specialty, which limits the offences for which an extradited person may be prosecuted, and protection against re-extradition, which concerns whether that person can subsequently be sent to another country.

Forde submitted that the two principles serve different purposes and cannot automatically be treated as interchangeable.

He argued that the applicable treaty between Guyana and the United States does not expressly provide the protection against onward extradition contemplated under Section 83B of the Fugitive Offenders Act.

Forde maintained that the treaty provisions and Guyana’s legislation must be interpreted according to their specific wording and requirements, rather than assuming that protection against re-extradition is implied by the principle of specialty.

He also challenged the interpretation adopted in an earlier ruling, arguing that it did not adequately account for the distinctions within Guyana’s statutory framework.

During the hearing, Chancellor George questioned the defence about the constitutional basis of its challenge, observing that the submissions had not clearly demonstrated how the challenged provisions violated the Constitution.

Forde, in response, said he was relying on Articles 40, 122A, 139 and 144 of the Constitution to establish the alleged violations.

The defence also questioned the breadth of the discretion given to the minister under the legislation, contending that the law does not establish sufficiently clear criteria to guide decisions on extradition.

Forde argued that the availability of judicial review does not, by itself, resolve the constitutional concerns raised by the appeal.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, in response, argued that the extradition arrangements between Guyana and the United States, together with specific assurances obtained from American authorities, adequately address the concern that the Mohameds could be sent to another country without the required ministerial consent.

Nandlall told the court that Guyana had specifically requested assurances from the United States on the issue and that the American authorities had provided a written assurance in relation to the two men.

According to his submissions, the United States assured Guyana that the Mohameds would not be re-extradited to a third country for an offence committed before their extradition without the consent of Guyana’s minister.

Nandlall argued that the assurance was not a separate arrangement outside the extradition process, but formed part of the existing framework governing extradition between the two countries.

He pointed to the bilateral treaty, which he said was inherited from an earlier treaty arrangement between the United Kingdom and the United States, and argued that its provisions had to be considered alongside the assurance obtained in this case.

Addressing the distinction raised by Forde, Nandlall maintained that the treaty’s specialty provisions and the written assurance had to be considered within the broader legal arrangements between the two countries.

He also pointed to Section 41 of the Fugitive Offenders Act, arguing that the relevant arrangements must be considered within the legal framework governing extradition and that the court should take the US assurance into account when assessing whether the statutory requirements had been met.

Nandlall further argued that completion of the judicial stage does not automatically require the minister to surrender a person sought for extradition.

Under his interpretation, the minister must still consider whether surrender would be in the interests of justice. That discretion, he said, remains subject to legal limits and judicial review, including consideration of relevant factors such as the risk of onward extradition.

The Attorney General also challenged the constitutional basis of the appeal, arguing that the defence had not clearly demonstrated how the challenged provisions violated specific constitutional protections.

The appeal raises questions about the relationship between Guyana’s extradition legislation, its treaty arrangements with the United States and the constitutional limits on executive power.

At the centre of the dispute is Section 83B of the Fugitive Offenders Act and whether the existing treaty provisions and assurances provide the protection against re-extradition contemplated by the law.

Source: NEW ROOMS SITE

A 17-year-old Linden Technical Institute student was shot dead by her former boyfriend on Monday after she posted a photograph of another man on her WhatsApp status, according to her relatives and the friend pictured.

Toisha Andrews was attacked at about 4.30 p.m. at Block 22, Linden. Her former boyfriend, Anthony Kellon Cato, 21, of Amelia’s Ward, then shot himself, a witness said.

Police said Cato shot Andrews in the forehead. She was taken to the Linden Hospital Complex, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. A .32 pistol was found near Cato’s body.

The friend whose photograph Andrews posted said their relationship was platonic. He said she had ended her relationship with Cato several weeks earlier to focus on herself, citing his insecurity.

He said Cato subsequently threatened Andrews and sent her a photograph on WhatsApp of a gun he allegedly later used in the attack. Andrews confided in him about the threats, he said, and he urged her to report them to police.

A neighbour who witnessed the shooting said Andrews was walking home from school when she spotted Cato’s car. She began running and shouted that she would go to the police station, the witness said.

“She start running and run inside the yard and he ran behind her and started shooting her and then shoot himself,” he said.

Cato’s mother, Shellon Cato, said her son called her on the morning of the shooting and told her the relationship had ended. He said he was hurt because he had invested a lot in it.

She said she urged him to leave Andrews alone and go home to rest. She later received a telephone call informing her that her son had killed himself.

Police are investigating.

Source: NEW ROOMS SITE

Guyana could stop importing chicken within a month as local production recovers from a shortage and supplies improve, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said on Monday.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Mustapha said the number of containers being imported had fallen to about two from five or six.

“We are about to be back to normalcy because the import has dropped tremendously. When you had six or five containers used to come in, it’s just about two now,” he said.

The government approved imports of approximately 330,000 pounds of chicken a week in August to ease a shortage, meet rising demand and prevent price increases while local producers raised output.

Mustapha said the decision followed discussions with the poultry producers’ association and an assessment of production, supply and demand.

“The demand has increased because more workers are in the country, more people are buying these things,” he said.

The minister said restoring supply after the shortage had taken time. He expects imports to decline further over the next two to three weeks and potentially end within a month if the recovery continues.

The government has also highlighted investments in domestic poultry production, including six tunnel-ventilated pens operated by young people.

Mustapha said the pens have six-week production cycles and form part of efforts to increase local output to meet growing demand.

Source: NEW ROOMS SITE

by Randy Gopaul

Senior Superintendent Prem Narine’s conduct in opening fire on a vehicle in which the opposition leader, Azruddin Mohamed was a passenger, is one that will make every Guyanese less safe.

Consider the facts as police themselves tell them: a senior officer, head of Special Branch, sees a vehicle pass his home slowly. It passes again. He hears a noise. He fires his service weapon at the vehicle. Four 9mm casings are recovered in his yard. One .32 casing is found on the street.

The opposition leader says he was there filming what he considered excessive police security at Narine’s private residence. Narine says he was shot at first. We have heard this story before. We have heard it so many times that the script is worn thin.

Here is what we know about Prem Narine from his own testimony. He has admitted under oath that he unilaterally initiated surveillance on Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed without orders from any superior. He has called Mohamed a “threat to national security”. He has been cross-examined for approximately twenty hours in extradition proceedings. This is a man who, by his own account, decided on his own authority to monitor a political opponent.

And now we are asked to believe that when a vehicle he had previously seen monitoring his residence returned, he acted reasonably in firing his weapon?

Make no mistake: Senior Superintendent Prem Narine’s behavior was reckless. Reckless in the moment and citizens should consider this carefully.  If a police officer can fire at a vehicle because he believes its occupants are behaving suspiciously, then what stops any citizen from doing the same? Special Branch operatives routinely follow citizens. They circle homes. They sit in unmarked vehicles outside residences. They engage in precisely the behavior for which Narine claims to have felt threatened.

Are we now saying it is acceptable to open fire on vehicles engaged in “suspicious” behavior? Because that is the standard Narine has set. If a slow-moving car outside a home justifies gunfire, then every Guyanese who has ever noticed a strange vehicle on their street has license to shoot.

For those celebrating this, let me remind you of Yohance Douglas.

On March 1, 2003, a nineteen-year-old University of Guyana architecture student was travelling with friends along Sheriff Street. They had just left basketball practice. Police opened fire on their vehicle. Douglas was killed. His friend Ronson Gray was shot in the jaw. The police version of events was that they were looking for a car that had reportedly left Buxton with five men. The same story. The same suspicious vehicle. The same hail of bullets.

Douglas was a young man with no criminal record. No speeding tickets. A university student. He was exactly what we would want our young people to be. And he was killed by police who thought his vehicle looked suspicious.

One officer was convicted of manslaughter. He served four years before being freed on appeal. The Douglas family never received an inquiry. Justice was never done.

This is not ancient history. This is the foundation upon which incidents like yesterday’s are built. When police can fire on vehicles with impunity, when the official story is almost always that someone fired first, when the consequence for killing an innocent student is four years served, we should not be surprised that we find ourselves here again.

The problem is not only that Prem Narine is uniquely dangerous. The problem is that the institution he leads has been permitted to operate this way for decades. Special Branch monitors citizens. Officers follow people. Vehicles circle homes. And when someone ends up shot, the story is always the same: the officer feared for his life.

We need to be very careful about the case being made here. If you support what Narine did, you are supporting a standard that will be applied to you. Because if you are declared an enemy of the state, what is to stop the police from firing into your car and then saying that he feared for his life.

Yohance Douglas was not a criminal. He was not a threat. He was a university student driving with friends. The bullets did not ask who he was. And neither will the next round fired into a vehicle of your friend or loved one.  Be very careful Guyana.

Source: Village Voice News

Firefighters were this afternoon battling a grass fire behind the National Aquatic Centre at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, with heavy smoke affecting homes west of the blaze.

The Guyana Fire Service said no structures were in immediate danger but urged residents in the affected area to take precautions.

Two water carriers from Headquarters and a water tender from the Campbellville Fire Station were dispatched, with crews under the command of Leading Fireman Persaud.

Firefighters were using water from the appliances and the beating-out method to extinguish the fire, the service said.

Residents were advised to keep windows and doors closed, remain indoors and limit outdoor activities while the smoke persisted. Particular attention should be given to children, older adults and persons with respiratory conditions.

The service also advised occupants to move away from the smoke if conditions inside their homes became uncomfortable, keep access routes clear and follow firefighters’ instructions.

The update did not state the cause of the fire.

Source: Kiskadee Watch