PNC’s Basil Williams claims he is unsure whether PNC is innocent of what it has been accused of during Walter Rodney era
…tries to escape from being linked to that period

Will the PNC stop at nothing to undermine the legacy of Dr. Walter Rodney? It is patently obvious, as with each passing day, they come up with a tired excuse to distract from the ongoing Commission of Inquiry into the intellectual’s assassination. Their latest one is likening the testimony of witnesses to a ‘soap opera.’Old Kai will agree with the PNC/R Chairman Basil Williams, as the testimony thus far depicts the operations of a ‘mobster outfit’ which, until today, we only saw on soap operas such as ‘The Sopranos’ and ‘Mad Men.’
The PNC leadership is becoming agitated as they know that Guyanese never expected or imagined the operations to be so intricate, involving so many players, both in the party and those strategically planted in the arms of the State. They never expected such exposure of the naked monstrosity of their dictatorship, what appears to be a natural resort to violence and the constant scheming to clear any form of opposition using any means necessary. The details directly linking members of the current PNC=APNU leadership to these intrigues have served to confirm the suspicion long harboured by many, including opposition supporters.
Quite frankly, no one expected to have had this kind of information forthcoming, many citizens had long given up on the dark secrets of the PNC during that period being exposed someday. Credit must be given to the Rodney family that has continued, over the many years, to press for information for such an Inquiry, so that its members can finally know under what circumstances their loved one was killed, so they can have some sort of closure. Let’s remember that apart from a political leader and intellectual, Rodney was also a husband, father, brother and son. Who can imagine the pain and sorrow his widow had to endure when she had to explain to her little kids why their father was not coming home, or the emptiness and pain of his kids who longed for their father at every significant stage of their life? Their main breadwinner was taken away from them; no one knows the struggle of Mrs. Rodney to put food on the table and, all because of why? Yes, that is what she wants to know now; what is so difficult to understand! They want to know why they had to suffer this fate, a fate that they will have to carry to their graves.
For the PNC/R leaders to now ridicule the Rodney family by equating this Inquiry to a ‘soap opera,’ shows how unconcerned they are to their suffering. Even in death, they still seem threatened by Dr. Walter Rodney. Old Kai knows the feeling; my father was also taken away from me at a very young age, murdered in cold blood. When I write about the Rodney family, I write from experience. Old Kai is not conjuring up scenarios. That is why I also feel insulted by this latest attempt of the PNC/R to denigrate this CoI. I know what it feels like to long for closure in such a tragic event, and knowing that it may never come. There is emptiness; and only the brave men and women who decide to stand up and be counted can fill that void by helping to put together the pieces of the grand design of that period.
The PNC/APNU leadership has exposed themselves on numerous occasions thus far, when they have tried to undermine the testimony of witnesses. In their latest effort, as captured in the media, we are informed that according to their lead counsel at the CoI, Basil Williams, the testimony of witnesses has been “a chorus line of hearsay, second hand knowledge, opinions, guesswork and generally of statements normally inadmissible in a court of law.”
Old Kai has a question for the PNC/R Chairman: When former Chief of Staff of the GDF during that period, Major General (ret’d) Normal McLean, testified that no less than his subordinate at the time, Mr. David Granger (a self-admitted long term member of the PNC, now APNU leader) was a military intelligence officer with intricate knowledge of Sergeant Gregory Smith, and was a point man for information during the Police investigation by ‘Skip Roberts,’ was this ‘hearsay, second hand knowledge, opinions or guesswork’?
Why has Basil Williams and the PNC entourage studiously avoided this revelation by Mr. McLean, including Mr. Granger himself?
The APNU leader, in all his public statements, has never let on to being so intricately involved during the Rodney Assassination era, even though there was great speculation that he was. Now thanks to Mr. McLean we have confirmation.
With all this in mind, one would think that if Mr. Williams was so convinced that the testimony of the witnesses thus far was false, he would not be trying so hard to dissociate himself from that period.
According to an iNews report, “He (Mr. Williams) claimed he had no firsthand knowledge whether the claims which associated the PNC are true, since he resided abroad during the period under examination.”
It appears that the ship is sinking and it is every man or woman for himself or herself in the PNC/APNU camp.
Old Kai will walk with a lifejacket at the next hearing of the CoI for the PNC/R Chairman.
Let us not forget that this is the very Mr. Williams who made direct reference to ‘those meetings’ between the House of Israel and the PNC during his cross examination of Mr. Joseph Hamilton, former Priest of the House of Israel and PNC Member of Parliament, while at the same time he was trying to deny ‘those meetings’ ever occurred.
Now he is not sure if the PNC is innocent, thus how can he, with a bold face, stare the public down and claim that they are innocent, all the while trying to assert that witnesses are giving false or misleading testimony? By his own admission, he has no ‘firsthand knowledge’ so how can he pronounce on the testimony of these witnesses who have firsthand knowledge?
Something is not right; too many contradictions from the opposition camp, and this could only mean we are very close to the truth in uncovering what actually transpired during that eventful period which ultimately resulted in the death of Dr. Walter Rodney.