Ossie Rodgers must be taken to court and be prosecuted

Dear Editor,
There is a CCTV video showing talk show host Ossie Rodgers physically assaulting a Bath Settlement woman. It was a despicable act, wherein Rodgers is shown repeatedly slapping the woman.
Now, the next logical thing to happen is for the general public to come out in stern condemnation of Rodgers and his violent attack on the woman, but what we see taking place is an attack on the Government of Guyana. And one would want to ask: Did the Government of Guyana send Rodgers to commit the act? Is the Government in any way to be blamed for Rodgers’s actions? If the answer is no, then why is this an inordinate attack on the Government?
Well, for starters, one can envision the strange turn of events wherein victims and sympathisers are at odds with the Government. The unjustified attack is due to the fact that Ossie Rodgers is a talk show host who has enlisted some PPP/C members on his shows, so we can see the connection here; but what does that have to do with the Government coming in for blame for Rodgers’s disorderly conduct? And the answer is, ‘None whatsoever’.
However, what the party can do is distance itself from Rodgers’s actions and issue a statement condemning the incident, but playing judge, jury and executioner is not a matter for the Government. Let me say to all and sundry that this is a legal matter, or a matter for the court, a course of action the victim needs to take, and stop her media appearances. She needs to stop talking and file a lawsuit against Rodgers. She does not have to wait for the conclusion of Police investigations, but hurriedly file a case against him. This is a legal matter, not a political issue. If those who are interviewing her are worth their salt, they should assist her to see a lawyer so she can file a strong case against Rodgers.
But this is the sorry state of affairs in Guyana, where straightforward matters take on political meaning. But far more important is the fact that these PNC guys – Rodgers was a strong supporter of the PNC – must realise that whenever they come across that political divide, the skeletons they had locked away in their cupboards would definitely follow them, sometimes with embarrassing consequences; the Bath Settlement incident is a case in point!
The fact is that that woman never physically threw a punch at Rodgers, but her words were lethal enough to elicit a violent response from Rodgers. We are all familiar with the behaviour of this individual in a prior incident involving a young woman, and I am certain that it would have been a remark made of his “strange social engagements” which caused Rodgers to be riled up to the point of violently attacking the woman. But like we say in creole, “The woman seh, and he in turn should seh back,” but to put his hands on her is a definite no-no! This vicious and lawless behaviour of his cannot ever be tolerated!
It also means that Rodgers leaving for his home abroad does not preclude him from prosecution either. That lady needs to go file a lawsuit immediately! The cameras are there to bear her out, and let him be punished for his actions. The crime was committed here, and, as such, Rodgers will have to return for trial.

Respectfully,
Neil Adams