Kwayana says evidence suggests that Gregory Smith was responsible

May 30, 2014 News

– admits act could have been committed by either of mass-based parties

By Latoya Giles
Veteran Political Activist and Member of the Working People’s Alliance Eusi Kwayana said yesterday that all evidence surrounding the death of Dr. Walter Rodney suggests that Guyana Defence Force Marine Sergeant Gregory Smith was responsible.
According to Kwayana, the way the State acted after Rodney’s death and the “protection” which was given to Smith also showed that they had some involvement.
Kwayana continued giving evidence for the second day as the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry progressed.
According to Kwayana, during an inquest which was held several years ago, information had come out from a report that said it was clear from the materials which were found on spot, that the bomb could be triggered remotely.
“What would a marine sergeant want to do planting a bomb on Dr. Rodney on his own I have not heard anywhere after 34 years about a dispute, grudge or bad feeling nature between Dr. Rodney and Gregory Smith , so I don’t think he was acting on his own, he was an agent under orders,” Kwayana stressed.
He told the commission that a man such as Smith, who had military training orders, would have been given such an order and he would have had to obey it.
Kwayana admitted also yesterday that the acts could have been committed without any knowledge whatsoever from the leadership of either of the two both mass-based parties, the People’s National Congress or the People’s Progressive Party.
Kwayana was further questioned about why Dr. Rodney would have wanted “walkie-talkies”. According to Kwayana, the WPA had a communications problem, and in the party they would try to solve problems. He explained that the WPA’s office didn’t have a telephone, which he said was politically rationed. He said that in many instances when they had applied they were told that there were no lines.
“I did not have a telephone and I did not apply for telephone, so walkie-talkies would help to cover spaces,” Kwayana told the commission.
He explained that the party had suggested that they would place people at various places with these devices when they were conducting marches to look out for the police.
Kwayana said that these walkie-talkies had not gone into full use, but they knew that Rodney had found a way of “tuning them up”. He admitted that he used a walkie-talkie one time at a meeting which was held at Bourda Square.
According to Kwayana, another problem that the party faced was printing information. He told the commission that printing was prohibited. He said that the party would be forced to obtain paper and print by any means necessary.
Under cross examination by Attorney at law Basil Williams, Kwayana was asked whether it would be correct to say that the WPA’s objective was to take the reins of power. Kwayana disagreed with that statement, saying that was not the focus of the party.
He said that when the organization was formed, state power was not on the agenda. Kwayana said that the government of the day announced to them that they were unwelcomed.
Kwayana was also questioned about “ASCRIA” an organization which he formed, and their relationship with the “Black Panthers”.
He was further asked about the 1979 burning of the PNC Headquarters and whether he considered it a dastardly act.
On Wednesday, Kwayana sought to discredit a book written by the late Gregory Smith calling it a fiction to escape guilt. Smith, who is the author of “Assassination Cry of a Failed Revolution” according to several sources including the Guyana Police Force, is the man responsible for the death of Dr. Walter Rodney.
Kwayana told the commission that the book was merely a “fiction of guilt on the mind of a ghost writer”. He said that the book had several major discrepancies which could not be supported.
The activist denied that the Working People’s Alliance aided in Smith’s departure out of Guyana.
“The WPA didn’t provide Smith with a passport or money to aid in his departure from Guyana,” Kwayana stated. He however suggested that it was either the police or the GDF that assisted Smith.
He also rubbished the assertion in Smith’s book that Rodney was going to cause damage to the Georgetown Prison. According to Kwayana, this could not be so because Rodney’s car was nowhere near the prison. He said that, secondly, there were armed officers at the prison, and they were placed there a year before the actual explosion.

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Kwayana says evidence suggests that Gregory Smith was responsible

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