Kwayana grilled about Rodney/Burnham relationship… Burnham was “King Kong”

May 31, 2014 News

By Latoya Giles
Political activist Eusi Kwayana was grilled yesterday by Attorney at Law Basil Williams, who is representing the

Political activist
Eusi Kwayana

interest for the People’s National Congress, about whether he knew that Walter Rodney had harboured a “hatred” for former President Forbes Burnham.
Kwayana disagreed with Williams’s suggestion and dismissed the contention that Rodney ever hated Burnham. Williams drew the commission’s attention to one of Rodney’s speeches from 1979.
The speech “The Struggle goes on” was made by Rodney at a public meeting. “The other evening speaking at another site, I had to draw the analogy to say that if there was ever such a thing called the Midas touch, which was a touch that made everything turn to gold…then we will have a new creation in the society- The Burnham touch where everything he touches turns to (faeces)”.
The witness was asked whether or not that statement could mean that Rodney “hated” Burnham. Again Kwayana said that he would disagree with the notion.
“But you see King Kong has decided he wanted to build a palace to his ego…and a monument to his own stupidity, so that he could sit inside and be a monument inside a monument” was another extract from the speech which Rodney made.
Kwayana was asked whether he thought that this statement could again suggest that Rodney had a “hatred” for Burnham. According to him he didn’t feel that the statement meant that Rodney hated Burnham.
Further, Williams asked that by reading these various parts of the speech “The struggle goes on” if Kwayana could agree that by these works Rodney recognized that supporters of a party can take matter into their own hands without leadership’s knowledge. He answered in the affirmative.
Next to question Kwayana was attorney at law, Andrew Pilgrim, who is looking into the interest of the Rodney family.
Kwayana was asked to clarify his position on any position of the Army leaders taking allegiance to a party then and now.
According to Kwayana he has always opposed it. He was also asked about his position on extra judicial killings then and now, and he said that he still opposes it. The lawyer then proceeded to question Kwayana about his thoughts about equality between the races then and now.
Kwayana had said on Thursday 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.

Walter Rodney

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.
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.