Nandlall tells ‘Black’ PPP supporters to embrace ‘House Slave’ label

Aug 31, 2025 News

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…says Cuffy was a proud house slave
…apologises after public backlash

Kaieteur News – Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., has come under intense fire following remarks made during a public meeting at Stabroek Square on Friday evening.

While addressing African supporters of the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Nandlall urged them to embrace the label “house slave” stating that Guyana’s national hero, Cuffy, was a “proud and outstanding house slave.”

While addressing the audience at the public meeting Nandlall stated, “You try to exercise that freedom, they insult you, they call you big batty African, they call you house slaves, they call you the nastiest thing. Well, I want you to tell them that the national hero in this country is Cuffy and Cuffy was a proud and outstanding house slave, nothing wrong with being a house slave.”

The remarks sparked immediate outrage across social media and political circles, with strong condemnation coming from opposition parties A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC), and civil society organisations, including the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly – Guyana (IDPADA-G). The backlash led to Nandlall issuing a public apology on Saturday.

In his statement, Nandlall said, “Last evening, at a public meeting at Stabroek Square, I made some comments which unfortunately did not accurately convey my intention. For my lack of clarity, I offer my unqualified and unreserved apology.”

He went on to reiterate his stance on slavery, calling it “by far, the worst tragedy in recorded history,” and emphasized that his remarks were intended to highlight and denounce efforts to sow racial division in Guyana. “Again, I offer my humble apologies for any unintended disrespect conveyed or offence committed,” he concluded.

Despite the apology, major political and civil voices have dismissed it as inadequate and insincere. In a strongly worded statement, APNU described Nandlall’s comment as “totally ignorant and repugnant,” asserting that Cuffy was not a house slave but a freedom fighter and revolutionary. “In 1763, he fought and broke the shackles of slavery and dehumanization. He then organized the world’s first nation state by freed Africans outside of Africa.”

APNU urged Afro-Guyanese voters to take note of what they described as the PPP’s “disrespectful” view of Afro-Guyanese history and culture, stating that Nandlall’s comment “was not a slip of the tongue, but reflects the mindset of his party.”

The AFC also rejected Nandlall’s apology, stating “The Attorney General’s recent remarks about Cuffy – Guyana’s national hero – describing him as a ‘proud house slave,’ and equating African Guyanese who support the PPP/C with the same label, have exposed in the clearest terms the PPP/C’s attitude toward the Black population of this country.”

The AFC questioned, “It is not simply a matter of whether the Attorney General was attempting to condemn racial discrimination or encourage unity. The issue is far deeper and more troubling: how can anyone, let alone a senior representative of the Government in 2025, even suggest that it was possible to be a “good” or “proud” slave in the most brutal and dehumanizing system of exploitation in human history?”

The party added that the so-called apology was “neither acceptable nor sincere.”

Additionally, IDPADA-G in a statement on Saturday, while observing the International Day of People of African Descent, strongly condemned Nandlall’s reference to Guyana’s national hero as a “proud house slave.” The group described the comment as a blatant act of disrespect toward African history.

“It is a deliberate desecration of the memory of the most important figure in African Guyanese history, and by extension, an assault on the dignity of every African Guyanese man, woman, and child. We are all insulted. We are all affronted. We are all justly indignant.”

The organisation emphasised that calling Cuffy a house slave, “is an act of blasphemy against Guyana’s history and a gross indignity to the African Guyanese community.”

It stated that African Guyanese have been central to every stage of human progress and called for leadership that would ensure recognition, justice, and development for people of African descent.

The group further added, “The Attorney General’s remarks cannot be divorced from the long record of discrimination, marginalization, and oppression of African Guyanese by his party’s administration. His words lay bare the true contempt and disregard that the ruling party holds for people of African descent in Guyana.”

IDPADA-G urged African Guyanese to support leaders who would fight for:

“• Recognition of the historical and ongoing contributions of African Guyanese to the building of this nation;

• Justice in dismantling systemic discrimination, racism, and the policies that perpetuate marginalization;
• Development that empowers our communities with resources, opportunities, and respect.”

The group further issued a strong call to action, demanding an immediate end to what it described as the continued mockery and erasure of African contributions to Guyana.

“We demand an end to the mockery and erasure of African contributions to Guyana.

The time has come to convene a National Committee to ensure our history is accurately recorded and taught from nursery to university; establish an African History Unit at the University of Guyana to institutionalize research and teaching of African Guyanese history and culture; identify and mark with pride the villages and settlements founded by Africans, on land they toiled for and purchased, so that our children know the sacrifices and triumphs of their ancestors.”

IDPADA-G also called for the restoration of village councils to save African lands for, “No longer will we accept leaders in power who insult and oppress us, who take our lands, degrade our culture, and mislead our youth.

The Attorney General has ended the era of domination and arrogance.  Guyanese must choose wisely on September 1 -Equity and Dignity—Now.”

Criticism of Nandlall’s remarks extended even within the PPP/C itself. Foreign Secretary Robert Montgomery Persaud stated, “Cuffy is our first and enduring freedom fighter. The 1763 Berbice Slave Rebellion which he led defined the course of freedom struggles thereafter beyond our shores. It’s inexcusable to suggest otherwise. He’s my hero, your hero, and Guyana’s hero.”

Echoing these sentiments, Former Mayor Ubraj Narine said, “Let us remind Mr. Nandlall that Cuffy was not a house slave—he was a freedom fighter who fought diligently so that generations after him would know liberty. Instead of honouring Cuffy’s memory and sacrifice, the PPP continues its bloody history of slaughtering our sons and suppressing truth, justice, and equality.”

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• Anil Nandlall, Cuffy, House Slave, label, Stabroek Square

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