The Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO), the women’s arm of the PPP, has identified the woman caught on camera urinating on the party’s flag at a political meeting as Abigail Baveghems, an employee of the Child Welfare Department of the Ministry of Education, who it says should be fired.
Baveghems is the daughter of former APNU parliamentarian Joan Baveghems, who yesterday said she had not talked with her daughter about the incident.
The incident was recorded on April 29th during what the WPO described as “the storming” of a PPP/C campaign meeting at Warlock, East Ruimveldt, where it said rocks and bottles were also thrown at PPP/C speakers. The PPP flag was also burned.
In a statement, the WPO called on the Minister of Education, the Teaching Service Commission, the Public Service Commission and the Public Service Ministry to review the conduct of Abigail Baveghems.
“She deliberately endangered a child with [a] disability who was clearly frightened and in distress and was begging to be removed from the location. She is unfit to be a mother and unfit to work with children,” it said, while also urging all women to condemn the incident and join with it in the call for Baveghems’ dismissal from the Ministry of Education as a Child Welfare Officer.
The WPO also urged the Guyana Police Force to complete its investigation and institute charges immediately.
Stabroek News made contact with Joan Baveghems, who stated that her daughter does not live with her and that she was made aware of the incident three days later when informed by a friend that there was a video circulating. Asked if she would have spoken to her daughter since, the elder Baveghems responded in the affirmative but added that she only said, “Hi and good morning or good afternoon.”
“My daughter is an adult…,” she further said. When pressed as to whether she specifically asked the young woman about the incident, she responded in the negative.
Asked for a contact number for the woman, Joan Baveghems said her daughter’s cellular phone had fallen into the trench and that she did not know her land line.
A call to the woman’s place of employment revealed that she was not at work and would not have been in for the day.
Meanwhile, the APNU+AFC’s press department, when contacted for comment, referred this newspaper to a statement it issued recently in which it quoted candidate Nigel Hughes as condemning acts of provocation during the elections campaign.
“Tonight we condemn all acts of indecency and disrespect. Whether it’s urinating on someone’s flag, burning someone’s flag or any other similar act,” Hughes was quoted as telling a public meeting at Fyrish, Corentyne. “We must hold ourselves to higher standards than we expect of others. We are better than that,” Hughes also stated.
