GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Jun 17, CMC – A court has granted the artiste, Daniel “Baby Skello” Wharton, GUY$45,000 (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) bail on Tuesday pending trial for the offence of blasphemous libel connected with a song about a Hindu goddess.
Attorney Everton Singh-Lammy said he had successfully made representation before Justice Simone Morris on behalf of his client, who had been remanded to prison last Friday by Magistrate Judy Latchman after the indictable charge was read to him.
He said that his client is not a flight risk and that there is no concern that he will flee the criminal justice system.
Wharton had earlier pleaded not guilty on the application of the Administration of Justice Act.
He was charged with the offence because of an explicit and vulgar song concerning a Hindu Goddess. If found guilty, he could be jailed for a maximum of one year.
In his written submission for bail, the lawyer states that although the Magistrate did not deliver a reasoned oral decision, she recorded in the case jacket that she “adopts the grounds and reasons cited by the prosecution”.
He notes that prosecution’s objections to bail included that the offence is serious in nature, the defendant violated a sacred deity, detention is required for the preservation of public order, the defendant’s actions destroyed public morals and the country was in chaos as a result of the musical publication.
Singh-Lammy said Wharton was also entitled to bail because most likely his trial would not commence in a reasonable time, he is not a flight risk, has no prior convictions, entitled to reasonable bail under Guyana’s Constitution and he is presumed innocent in accordance with the Constitution.
On Monday, the opposition Alliance for Change (AFC) Monday called on Parliament to repeal what it described as the “archaic and incompatible offence” of blasphemous libel from Guyana’s statute books saying it violates the country’s Constitution and international law.
In a statement, the AFC said that this colonial-era law stands in direct contradiction to Article 146 of the Constitution, International human rights obligations, including Guyana’s commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Guyana is a State Party.
It said that the Constitution and the ICCPR guarantee the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers.
Blasphemous libel laws, by their very nature, criminalize expressions of religious critique or dissent and pose a chilling effect on free speech and open discourse in a democratic society,” the AFC said.
The Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) Monday said that it wanted to inform the general public that it had “no involvement in the prosecution or subsequent remand” of the artiste.
The Commission recalled that it had publicly issued two formal invitations, on May 14 and May 23, 2025, urging Wharton to appear before the ERC to discuss concerns regarding his tune “which has been widely criticized for disparaging a Hindu goddess.
“These appeals were made in response ERC receipt of formal complaints from the Hindu community. Despite the ERC’s well-publicised efforts to initiate a dialogue, Mr. Wharton did not respond or present himself for an interview. As the Commission does not possess subpoena powers, it was unable to compel his attendance or further engage with him on this matter,” the ERC said.
CMC/gt/ir/2025