Depoo’s last act was for free and fair election

Jun 25, 2020 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

Randy Depoo took his final breath two weeks ago in Guyana championing free and fair elections (FFE). He wanted the right winner to be declared but did not live to see it because of what, he described, were the shenanigans of GECOM. He cast blame for the ongoing fraud on the CEO, Dep. CEO and Chair; the latter he felt could have put an end to the fraud months ago and hopes that she still would do the honourable thing.
Randy migrated to New York in mid 1970’s and decided to remigrate to Guyana months before the March 2 elections contributing to the struggle for FFE. He gave solid support to the FFE movement between 1985 and 1986 (when he became a US diplomat) and over the last several months.
I was closely involved in the FFE movement since my arrival in NY in 1977 to study medicine. At City College, I encountered Randy’s younger brother Reynold (who worked at Jamaica Hospital) who was a few years my senior in science studies. A few others and I founded a West Indian Club at CCNY and Reynold used to occasionally attend our activities (Guyana Day, Christmas, Eid, Diwali, Phagwah, etc. that I jointly coordinated with other Indophile students). Reynold interacted occasionally showing little interest in Guyana affairs; he was immersed in his studies to become a doctor. But older brother Randy developed an interest in Guyana affairs and joined the FFE movement around 1985 long after he finished law studies. Randy and family (several brothers) and the Depoo clan (of cousins) lived in the Ridgewood section of Brooklyn, adjoining Queens. He studied at Brooklyn College obtaining a BA degree and later got acceptance to read law at Rutgers, one of the leading law colleges in America. He settled there with his wife and kids for a while. Another brother, Sherlock, obtained an MA at Rutgers. And I met yet another brother Tilokee at New York University when I was pursing doctoral studies in Political Science; he studied economics. Clearly, Randy came from a family of academic achievers.
Randy was called to the bar in Jersey and clerked briefly for a Judge in that state. He took the exam to work with the US Foreign Service. He succeeded and was hired for a State Department posting being sent to Manila, Caracas, Toronto, and Port of Spain for various stints. He also briefly worked at the State Department and acquired a home in neighbouring Virginia. His assignment ended when his posting in Trinidad was extended and came to an end around 2000 when he ended his diplomatic career. In Trinidad, where he retired, he practised immigration law (beginning around 2001) and deeply immersed himself in Guyana affairs as he was no longer a US diplomat. I used to write on US immigration matters and I sought clarification on certain issues on sponsorship and citizenship.
In Trinidad, Randy organized varied activities and did fundraising drives for political forces in Guyana. I attended some of his Guyana Day activities in Trinidad and even met two of his brothers who had also lived there for several years at various functions before their re-migrating to the US and built careers in academia. From Trinidad, Randy closely followed the CCJ matter relating to the so-called Jagdeo Third Term and subsequently the no confidence motion case. In my final encounters in Trinidad late last year, he told me he was re-migrating to Guyana. He sought my guidance on political issues relating to Guyana.
Several months ago, I met Randy in Guyana where I was conducting surveys to predict the outcome of the election. And we also spoke on the phone on election day matters. He was posted as an observer on the East Coast. He narrated a tale of election day abuses, intimidation, and fraud involving supporters of one party. He said he tried as best as he could, with limited support, to limit ballot stuffing and voter impersonation. He also gave support to some polling day workers and tried to offer protection to some poll workers and polling agents whose lives were threatened.
After the Mingo fraud, Randy spearheaded a movement to demand its reversal and declaration of the rightful winner of the election as per the count of SOPs that were confirmed by the recount. He obtained some 10K signatures that were presented to the US State Department calling for sanctions against those who were behind the Mingo fraud.
Clearly, Randy was very passionate about standing up for free and fair elections and democracy in his homeland. He provided me with a lot of anecdotal incidents of fraud; these need eyewitness confirmation from other sources. We had agreed to meet after the COVID to examine the litany of incidents of election day abuses. Regrettably, this would not be. The nation would miss Randy’s passion and dedication to the movement for free and fair elections. His parents and Guyana produced a good son to be remembered for his contributions to the nation.

Yours truly,
Dr. Vishnu Bisram

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