‘Baby Skello’ granted $45,000 bail over blasphemous libel charge

Guyanese artiste Daniel Wharton, popularly known as “Baby Skello,” was on Tuesday morning granted $45,000 bail by High Court Judge Simone Morris-Ramlall.

The bail was granted just days after Wharton was charged with blasphemous libel in relation to a song he performed and shared on TikTok. The track allegedly contained references to the Hindu goddess, Mother Lakshmi.

Under Guyanese law, blasphemous libel refers to actions or expressions that insult, offend, or vilify a religious deity. A conviction can carry a prison sentence of up to one year.

Wharton first appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman last Friday, when he was denied bail and remanded to prison. He spent the weekend in custody before his legal team—led by attorneys Dexter Todd and Everton Lammy-Singh—petitioned the High Court for bail on Monday.

Following submissions from the defence, the presiding judge approved the request, allowing Wharton to be released.

Before being formally charged, Wharton was the subject of a wanted bulletin issued by the police. He later surrendered to law enforcement and was held in custody for three days during the initial investigation.

In response to the public backlash, Wharton issued a public apology for the song’s content and removed it from his TikTok account. He was also summoned to appear before the Ethnic Relations Commission but did not attend the scheduled hearing.