The mysteries of the Rodney versus Burnham saga

Jun 13, 2016 News

It must be disappointing to many of Walter Rodney’s admirers that on this day of his death anniversary, there is no official event to mark the occasion and there is no official discussion of the findings of the official inquiry into his death. Naturally, the focus must be on his party, the Working People’s Alliance. It is part of the Government of Guyana. It means therefore it would have access to certain resources, that it didn’t have before.
For example, it would have had to ask the Ministry of Education under the PPP to facilitate it with school space if it wanted to hold the event at one of the Georgetown schools. The current Minister of Education is in fact a WPA leader who was extremely close to Rodney before Rodney died. There are other questions that will naturally come up today and the Enquiry’s findings will be one of them. Once such a curiosity comes into play, the water gets murky.
If one removes one’s admiration for Rodney from the equation and puts on a historian’s hat, one cannot escape the murky water. For many, the Commission created more confusion than was originally there. As it stands today, these cobwebs are piling on curiosities and doubts. These cobwebs have not helped the cause of those who want to see a direct indictment of Forbes Burnham. First, let’s get Clive Thomas out of the way. He is the only person that can avoid criticism.
He said from day one, he will not participate in the Commission’s work. He thought the political conspiracy behind the timing of the Commission coming into being will call into question its integrity. At that time I supported that position of Thomas and still do. Secondly, Gregory Smith. The evidence against Smith is solid. He was in the army, yet the army denied it. He was whisked away from Guyana by the army. Smith was involved in the planning of Rodney’s death but do we know who Smith was? After the Commission, Smith became even more of a mystery.
There has not even been a modicum of testimony from anyone in that Commission that Smith was known to the WPA. No one in the WPA seemed to have known or met Smith; only Rodney. If that is true, confusion becomes bewilderment, bewilderment becomes mystery. Is it possible for a leader of a party to embrace a recruit and no one else in the party ever met this recruit?
Do you mean to tell me that not even one of Rodney’s most trusted comrades met Smith? In the real world, dating back to the ancient Greek and Roman generals, right up to modern times, leaders do not behave like this. If it is true that Rodney kept his Smith friendship locked away because he could not trust the WPA leadership, then both Rodney and the WPA were sailing in dangerous waters and he should have rethought both his activism and strategies.
Thirdly, Eusi Kwayana and Rodney’s wife, Patricia. I have gone through their testimonies and I see not even a passing mention from these two persons of Burnham’s involvement. I found this intriguing and did mention it in one of my columns during the life of the Commission. Only one WPA leader went on the stand and accused Burnham of involvement of Rodney’s death and that was Tacuma Ogunseye. Fourthly, the WPA is on record as saying that they were not consulted by the Ramotar presidency and Patricia Rodney in the setting up of the inquiry. In fact, it seems that Mrs. Rodney was adamant on the WPA’s exclusion. She has chosen to remain silent on this matter.
Fourthly, Rupert Roopnarine. Three WPA witnesses came from the US to testify – Kwayana, Mrs. Rodney and Dr. Nigel Westmaas. Yet living right in Guyana is Dr. Rupert Roopnarine and he did not put in an appearance. There is no public statement to date as to why he chose that path. Some WPA sympathizers point to the inconclusive nature of the report because Roopnarine was still to give evidence. But he had all the time in the world do so and did not.
I believe the Commission’s work has left more questions than answers. In the end, I could only give my interpretation and I will do so upholding the objectivity and scholarly integrity that historians must embody if history is to reflect facts and not fictions. Walter Rodney wanted to overthrow President Burnham and was involved in such a project. President Burnham saw it as a fight to the finish; if he, Burnham was to survive, Rodney had to go.

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The mysteries of the Rodney versus Burnham saga

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