was released on $45,000 High Court bail. Wharton made his first court appearance at the Diamond Magistrates’ Court before Magistrate Judy Latchman, who remanded him to prison until July 1, 2025.

The charge stemmed from a ‘distasteful and vulgar’ song Wharton released on his TikTok page back in May, about the Hindu goddess, Mother Lakshmi. During last Tuesday’s court hearing, Wharton appeared before Judge Simone Morris at the Georgetown High Court, where he was granted bail.

The local artiste was represented by attorneys Dexter Todd and Everton Singh-Lammy, who requested bail on his behalf. During an interview with Kaieteur News, Todd said that bail was requested on the grounds that the offence is one that offers bail, is a minor offence and that the magistrate had no evidence before her to suggest that Wharton was a flight risk or that he would not appear for his trial.

The attorney added that Wharton appeared in court on his own free will without being arrested by police. He noted that the prosecution had no objections to bail, resulting in them supporting the application. Wharton’s remand had evoked widespread condemnation from civil society, including government and opposition officials.

Education Minister and attorney, Priya Manickchand, attorney Sase Gunraj, who sits as a commissioner of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), attorneys Dexter Todd and Ronald Daniels, all publicly condemned the court’s decision to remand Wharton. Minister Manickchand took to her personal Facebook page last Friday to express her disapproval, describing the court’s decision as inconsistent and misplaced, particularly in contrast to how other, more serious matters are handled.

“The bench needs to be consistent and sensible in its application of the law. We are jailing someone for mumbling or trying to sing something offensive against a female goddess (which was terrible and should never be encouraged or listened to and which I personally condemned) but [the court is] failing to address speedily DV [domestic violence] matters where women are at the mercy of the court, failing to address matters of cyberbullying where women’s nude photographs are published online without their consent, and other truly egregious crimes against women. I truly hope he has a lawyer who will have this odd decision reversed at the High Court,” the minister said. (Kaieteur News)