The man who was betrayed more times than Jesus

Jul 11, 2008 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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I have been reading quite a few letters in the press recently in which the name Moses Nagamootoo has been featured. In one such letter it was mentioned that Moses is being sidelined by the leadership of the party.

In support of this contention it was pointed out, for example, that he is not being allowed to chair any of the committees at the forthcoming Congress of the PPP.

The idea of Moses chairing a committee at Congress is far-fetched. He will be lucky if he gets an invitation to the Congress.

Moses should not be surprised if even with an invitation he is locked out of Congress and Joey was a few years ago.

Moses is now a pariah within his party having been betrayed far more times than Jesus was by his top apostle.

The first betrayal took place after the death of Cheddi Jagan. Moses Nagamootoo should have succeeded Cheddi when the old man died.

He should have succeeded him, not because as some are saying that Cheddi identified him as his successor. Cheddi did no such thing.

When Cheddi Jagan was asked about who would succeed him, he pointed to Moses as an example of the sort of talent within the party.

Cheddi was trying to make the point that he was not worried about his party after he would have departed since there were persons of ability within the PPP, Moses being a prime example. This was not an anointment of Moses as the successor of Cheddi.

Cheddi had his own plans. On his death bed he is said to have signed some note indicating that he wanted his wife to succeed him.

So, despite all that the faith that he was supposed to have in the talent within the party, Cheddi in the end went for his partner of over fifty years. The first betrayal was thus a betrayal by Cheddi himself and it was a betrayal of most of his former comrades.

The second betrayal took place at a meeting of the party’s top brass where the issue of who should succeed Cheddi took place.

A lot of ambitions raised their heads at that meeting, and some names were suggested which should never have been raised.

I believe it was a grave disrespect to those who had been in the trenches with Cheddi for those names to have been raised.

I recall one of the most courageous performances in the history of the PPP took place on the night of the 1973 elections.

I am sure that the radio station still has the recording of the discussion that took place on that night as the bogus election results were being awaited.

Moses Nagamootoo stood tall and defiant in facing down the propagandists of the PNC regime. It was vintage performance by Moses, the likes of which I have never witnessed before.

I do not onto this day believe that even Cheddi could have held court the way Moses did that night over the radio.

The third betrayal took place after Moses failed to secure a place in the 2001 Cabinet. But by then the political minions were holding sway over the government and the party and there could be no place for political thoroughbreds amidst such mediocrity.

Moses remained, however, a force within the party and was retained as a member of the party’s all-powerful Executive Committee.

After however he raised the issue of the death squad allegations at one such meeting of the party, and he walked out saying that he was finished with that grouping, this act was shamelessly interpreted as constituting a resignation from the Executive and Moses was unlawfully resigned from the Executive, something that I hope that the forthcoming Congress of the party will put right.

I also hope that the 29th Congress of the party will issue some form of appreciation for Joseph O’Lall’s contribution to the PPP, a contribution that spanned over four decades.

I have found it hard to believe that O’Lall died from a long standing illness. To this day, I still feel that it was the stress of his dismissal that caused him to die.

The fourth betrayal of Moses took place after he was invited to be part of the PPP platform in the 2006 elections.

Clearly, this invitation had to do with the fact that it was seen as better to have him on board rather than outside of the party at a time when elections were due.

Moses, in any event, had no intention of leaving the party of Cheddi Jagan to join the AFC as many had feared. I do not believe he would ever do this.

Moses came on board, spoke in favour of Bharrat Jagdeo’s presidency and leadership, but yet a place could not be found for him within an extended Cabinet.

An opportunity came this year for the party and the President to redress this wrong. The Minister of Foreign Affairs had resigned and this created an opening for the appointment of a new minister.

Moses Nagamootoo was seen as a frontrunner. However, the position was not to be his. The Minister for Amerindian Affairs was handed the portfolio, thus leaving Moses out once again in the cold.

Jesus, as far as I recall, was betrayed three times before the cock crowed twice. Moses was betrayed five times. Will the 29th Congress betray him a sixth time?

I think it most likely will. In Guyana, we are living in the Age of Betrayal and I would therefore not be surprised if the forthcoming Congress of the PPP totally ignores Moses Nagamootoo.

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