TOM died last week and will be buried this morning (Monday). I honestly, at the time of writing, cannot recall the name of the church and did not take time to research the name.

If it is not the oldest Christian church in Guyana, then it is one of the oldest which sits opposite the Georgetown Magistrates Court on Avenue of the Republic.

If you are reading this, I will repeat tonight (Monday) the interview with him on the Freddie Kissoon Show that was done three years ago.

My first glimpse of Tom in action scared me and I felt I didn’t want to know such a person. This was in 1972.

I was a mere 21-year-old youth when Tom Dalgetty caught my attention. There was a symposium on politics at Bishop’s High School and Moses Bhagwan said something that Tom found unacceptable and in front of the audience of more than 100 anti-dictatorship activists, Tom picked up a chair and went to throw it at Moses. Had it connected, it would have certainly seriously injured Moses.

I can definitely recall people like Eusi Kwayana, Clive Thomas, Dr Josh Ramsammy, many UG lecturers and activists from the PPP were there. Bhagwan has just released his autobiography and there is no mention of that incident. I never met Tom until five years after, in 1977.

At that time Forbes Burnham and the WPA were caught in the vortex of zero-sum confrontation. I met Tom at my birth place in Wortmanville. He had a house in Bent Street in Wortmanville, two blocks from where I was born. He made tar at the bottom house.

At that time, one of my political mentors was Brian Rodway of the WPA. Brian had a problem securing a place to live so Tom allowed him to stay upstairs. I spent a lot of time with Brian, so I saw Tom frequently but never spoke with him. I knew he was sympathetic at that time to the WPA.

I really got to know Ras Tom Dalgetty after I returned in 1984 from studies abroad. I had not even the remotest clue that Tom had known my mother-in-law very well and knew my wife long before I met her

Three characteristics I detected: the first one I could have easily identified with. He was eccentric. Secondly, he was deeply committed to the worldwide liberation of the African race. Thirdly, I did not see any racist undertones when he discussed the politics of Guyana.

I would say it was in the 1990s that we became friends and our conversations took on analytical tones. I detected two more characteristics in the personality of Tom. He was disdainful of African Guyanese leaders whose dedication to African Guyanese were deceptive and superficial. The fifth motif in his character was his appreciation of me.

I could not believe that this man who stunned me in 1972 by a violent action I could come to appreciate 30 years later. He once wrote a letter in Stabroek News denouncing Walter Rodney. His reason was that Walter should not have confronted Burnham.

I asked him to explain that and he said that Black leaders should not seek to bring down each other. He said Rodney should have settled with Burnham. Now here is the part that will surprise all who knew him.

I intoned that if Walter wanted to seek reconciliation with Burnham, I don’t think Burnham would have accepted any form of power-sharing with Walter, because of Burnham’s nature. Tom was possessed of a pleasant smile. So, he smiled and said: “you may be right.”

There was no irritating reaction towards my question. We became closer when I was a critic of the PPP government and after 2020 when my psychic transformation took place, his appreciation for me remained.

Ras Tom Dalgetty may have been deeply steeped in everything African, but it was this undying love for the African race in Guyana that led to his frustration with African leadership in this country.

One day, I couldn’t find parking on Robb and Alexander Streets where Bourda vendors ply their trade. I was shopping right at that corner. I knew he lived right at the junction and had a big yard. I knew I could get parking by just calling out at the gate.

He was home and I parked and we chatted. Tom was profoundly frustrated with the quality of African leadership in Guyana and was deeply bitter with the leadership of IDPADA-G and the APNU+AFC government. Ras Tom Dagletty was one of the incorruptible Black leaders this country produced. Guyana needs more like him.

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.