HGP Nightly News – We Invest in Nationhood party leader Azruddin Mohamed is facing sharp condemnation from government ministers after a video emerged showing him making critical remarks about members of the LGBTQ community during an address at a mosque.
The footage, widely circulated on social media, captures Mohamed questioning the presence of individuals he described as “questionable persons, lesbians, bisexuals” praying at the religious institution. The comments have drawn swift and forceful rebukes from senior government figures.
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Priya Manickchand took to public platforms to express her dismay, arguing that political leaders should be building unity, not intolerance.
“Good political leaders find ways to make life easier for the people they seek to lead,” Manickchand wrote. “Leading a bandwagon of intolerance for anyone based on their religion or sexual orientation or ethnicity or gender or for any other bigoted view ought to be something eschewed by political parties and their leadership.”
The minister said she was shocked by the suggestion that LGBTQ individuals should be excluded from places of worship.
“Imagine my shock, therefore, when I heard the WIN party leader shunning lesbians and asking for them to be disinvited from places of worship,” she said. “Places of worship should be safe havens for all, not so?”
She urged greater compassion during the current religious observances of Ramadan and Lent. “Let’s be kind and tolerant in this Ramadan and Lenten period. I doubt our God would want us to hurt others because we don’t see eye-to-eye with them on any issue. Live and let live.”
Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Susan Rodrigues also weighed in, questioning whether the WIN party’s position on LGBTQ issues had shifted since the last elections.
Rodrigues recalled that just before the 2025 General and Regional Elections, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination hosted a panel discussion on LGBTQ+ issues. She represented the PPP/C, while WIN’s Odessa Primus represented her party. At that forum, all participating parties condemned discrimination based on sexual orientation and expressed support for equal access to education, healthcare, employment, and legal protection.
“Was the position expressed by WIN on that panel one of convenience because of the impending elections?” Rodrigues asked. “Has that position changed? Are we no longer equal?”
The minister also addressed what she described as repeated attacks on her personal life by supporters of the opposition leader. In a powerful statement, she affirmed her identity and her place in the government.
“My personal life is not a weakness, and I have never used it to play the victim. I am a proud gay person, serving in the Cabinet of our country, and supported by my party.”
Rodrigues reiterated the government’s commitment to inclusive governance. “When we say we govern for all the people of Guyana, we mean ALL the people of Guyana.”
The controversy has opened a sharp divide between the governing party and the opposition leader on questions of inclusion, tolerance, and the role of religion in public life. For Mohamed, the backlash shows no signs of abating.
