ON the death anniversary of Forbes Burnham two weeks ago, I did a column (Feb. 23) in which I pointed out that those singing praise to Burnham are on a stuck record. Each year, they continue to highlight the infrastructural accomplishments of Burnham (roads, bridges, etc…) but they never discuss the demonic political output of Burnham.
One of the persons who is on that stuck record is the former Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine. So, in that February 23 piece, I suggested to Narine that he doesn’t know about the autocracy and political degeneracy of Burnham because he wasn’t even born then. I now quote Narine’s response to me.
I ask readers to carefully note the approach to arguing by Narine because it exposes the atrocity in the condemnations of those who are critics of the government.
Mr Narine noted: “I readily acknowledge what Mr Kissoon finds so offensive. I was not born during the Forbes Burnham’s presidency. But historical understanding is not confined to lived experience. Serious people research, read and interrogate sources and situate leaders within this global and regional context….”
Three times on the Freddie Kissoon Show, including just five weeks ago, Mr Narine has unambiguously stated that he cannot comment on attempted rigging of the 2020 elections because he wasn’t around the elections drama, so he cannot pronounce on anything concerning rigged elections in 2020.
Here are the comicality and asininity in the pronouncements of Narine. This man says that you do not have to be living when an occurrence takes place. To understand that occurrence you can read about it and research it.
In his reaction to my February 23 column, he explained that he researched Burnham’s rule and concluded that Burnham was a great man, had magnificent accomplishments and was the best President Guyana has produced.
Mr Narine’s mind froze up between March to July in 2020 because he could not read and research about five months of a conspiratorial assault on the elections. And where was Narine when the five months disaster was sweeping Guyana in 2020?
Unlike when Burnham was in power, when he wasn’t born, Narine was a grown-up man living in Guyana during those five months of attempted electoral theft. In fact, so grown up and alive was Narine, he was Mayor of Georgetown.
So, this man who wasn’t born when Burnham was a dictator, researched Burnham when he, Narine, grew up and found out nice things about Burnham. But this very man who could read and do research as he tells us (though I doubt it) could not read about the international reports that documented the efforts to tamper with the legitimate results.
What is the explanation as to why Narine cannot comment on the election fraud in 2020 because as he said, he wasn’t around? Narine is right. He wasn’t around. In 2020, Narine wasn’t born in 2020. So, who was Mayor of Georgetown in 2020? That was another man, with the same name. Let’s move on to Ganesh Mahipaul who was ignominiously tossed aside as parliamentary leader of the PNC.
Mr Mahipaul criticised two journalists – Fareeza Haniff and Kianna Wilburg — who host a talk-show named, “Starting Point.” He accused the two ladies of not giving opposition voices a space on their programme.
He advised the ladies that views opposed to the government must be allowed on “Starting Point,” and he named the programmes that allow both sides to have a say.
He listed Sherod Duncan’s thing named “Credible Source,” another one by Enrico Woolford titled, “Context” and another one named “Sources” hosted by Svetlana Marshall. Mahipaul did not mention the Freddie Kissoon Show that in its three and half years of existence may have had more anti-PPP guests than pro-PPP personalities.
Our guests included most of the big names in all the major opposition parties including the PNC leader, Aubrey Norton. And guess how many times Mahipaul appeared on the Freddie Kissoon Show in which he spent one hour cussing down the PPP?
The number is four. Yes, four times Mahipaul was on the Freddie Kissoon Show. Yet he didn’t name the programme as one of the talk-shows that offer a platform for the opposition PNC and other opposition parties.
So, Leonard Craig and I called him to ask how he can be so politically indecent. He said he forgot to name the Freddie Kissoon Show but will acknowledge his mistake right away. Two weeks now and he hasn’t done that. He deliberately left out a show that gave him an opportunity four times to knock the government.
Narine and Mahipaul are people whose party slipped from 31 parliamentary seats in 2020 to 12 in 2025, because the Guyanese people know what their essential characters are made of.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.