Mr. President, I am disturbed at the disrespect

Oct 22, 2026 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

(Kaieteur News) – What follows is personal. It extends every courtesy due to the office of the presidency in Guyana. Add to that, every care for the welfare of the incumbent, Excellency M. I. Ali. Due to the call of relationships, of duty, Pres Ali, from time to time, attends funerals in various houses of worship. He should always be a welcomed presence, no different from that due to his vice presidential and ministerial comrades. Or anyone, come to think of it. Now it is time for a quiet word of counsel. Time for this respectful line of communication to His Excellency, to the chief of protocol, and to the Head of the Presidential Guards.

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The president is entitled to his security detail, visible and invisible. I am particularly peeved at the visible portion. Mr. President, attendance at a funeral in a house of worship should never require the presence of a dozen or more security personnel inside such a building. Mr. President: I cannot speak for other denominations or bodies, but the inside of a Roman Catholic Church is sacred space. It is to me, regardless of what the Pope or Cardinals says. Mr. President: the presence of armed men inside my sanctuary is a violation of the sacrosanct aura and ambience of my place of worship. In the event that the people around the president do not understand sacrosanct, then I offer them sanctity in its place. They should all have no difficulty understanding sanctity, since Pres Ali himself has held it so high, since it is so dear to him. I am offended by the presence of so many armed men in a place of God, so conspicuous they are in their unmistakable bulkiness, their unconcealed, arresting, silhouettes. The people around the president should know better, show some respect. I will tell them how to do so.