Georgetown, Guyana – August 29, 2025 – Guyana is still in shock after a mother was brutally killed in a case of domestic violence that also left her 10-year-old son in a stable condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital. As the boy remains hospitalised, Guyanese leaders have joined in grief and called for urgent action, saying that no society can accept such violence as normal.
Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, speaking at a press conference on Thursday at Freedom House, said that while the government continues to strengthen laws, legislation alone cannot solve the crisis. “We’ve made it clear in the next term, we have to not just work in this school through the civic programme [but also] to work at a very young age with people to promote values that are really important to the growth of our society, a more humane society,” he said.
Jagdeo said the effort must include partnerships with religious leaders and NGOs to tackle harmful behaviour before it escalates. Calling the recent killing “grotesque” and “barbaric,” he stated firmly that such acts “have no place in a modern society or a humane society.”
Earlier in the week, President Dr. Irfaan Ali spoke directly with the young survivor. “I had the opportunity to speak to a 10-year-old child, a 10-year-old child who is fighting for his life, fighting for his life because of what occurred earlier today,” the President said. He assured the boy that the entire country stood with him, telling him: “You can count on us as a people to stand with you for the rest of your life.”
The President also called on citizens to confront the roots of domestic violence, which he described as tied to family breakdowns, community failures, and silence in the face of abuse. “When we stay silent in the pain of others and do nothing in the pain of others, we never could tell where that pain would lead,” Ali said.
He warned that Guyana’s future prosperity must be measured not only in economic growth but also in the values that hold families and communities together. “We could be the richest, but without tackling these issues, we will never achieve full prosperity,” Ali said.
The President urged the nation to honor the victim’s memory by building a society where children grow up surrounded by love and protection. “We must recommit ourselves to bringing these values to the core of our development, to advancing these values, to protecting these values. And this requires every single one of us,” he said.
