When we read about Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Bishop Tutu, and Marcus Garvey, which Guyanese do we think of? Without hesitation, most Guyanese would say Cheddi Jagan. When we read about El Chapo, Pablo Escobar, “Dudus”, and other famous criminals, who in Guyana do we automatically think of? Maybe I will simply leave this for readers to say.
Cheddi Jagan is one of the most revered Guyanese and Caribbean citizens. When Caribbean citizens speak about Cheddi, they speak of a genuine Caribbean freedom fighter, as the father of Guyana. He was by far the Guyanese man of the 20th century. It is why one of the mandates of the United Nations is the New Global Human Order, a fight for justice, thereby inscribing Cheddi’s legacy as not just a Guyanese legacy but a global legacy. We must not forget that even his enemies honour him.
A group of Caribbean Ministers of Health once had an audience with Nelson Mandela. He heard that the Minister of Health of Guyana was in the group. He sought me out and asked if I were one of Cheddi’s boys. In 2008, as President of the World Health Assembly, one of my guest speakers was Bishop Tutu. Introducing himself as Guyana’s Minister of Health, he said, “You are from Cheddi’s country.” In 1990, in Washington, I met some US congressmen soliciting their support for free and fair elections in Guyana. All of them knew about Cheddi’s heroic fight for freedom. Cheddi was and is not just revered in Guyana; he was and is a global icon.
Recently, in Geneva, when Azruddin Mohamed was elected as Leader of the Opposition in Guyana’s Parliament, a diplomat asked me if this was the same man who aspires to be like Pablo Escobar. The vastness of the difference in how people think of Cheddi Jagan compared to Azruddin Mohamed must not escape us. It is why Ruminations categorically rejects any attempt by anyone to compare Azruddin Mohamed to Cheddi Jagan. Such comparisons are absurd, disrespectful, and blasphemous.
Family members and supporters of Azruddin Mohamed have sought to compare him to Cheddi Jagan. Let us be clear – nothing that Cheddi Jagan stood for and fought for is even remotely part of the credentials of Azruddin Mohamed. Cheddi fought all his life for the Guyanese people. Azruddin Mohamed has spent his life thus far brandishing his “playboy” credentials. His politics is not about fighting for justice for people; he is using politics to shield him from criminal prosecution by the most powerful country on earth.
Cheddi Jagan was politically persecuted because he fought for the freedom of Guyana, the political rights of Guyanese, against the British and colonial masters for Guyana’s freedom and for social justice for the Guyanese people. Cheddi fought against the powerful rigging machinery of Forbes Burnham, Desmond Hoyte and the PNC.
Let us be pellucidly clear. Cheddi was locked up as a political prisoner, without charges and trials. While the colonial powers persecuted him, at no time, in no way, did they ever sanction him or indict and charge him; at no time did anyone request his extradition for crimes. Cheddi Jagan was never a person of interest in any murder, or for gold smuggling, or for tax evasion.
Azruddin Mohamed was never jailed like Cheddi without a trial, never arrested for protesting against rigged elections or for any political activity. He has been arrested for failing to be on time for court while on bail, when the American requested his extradition, and when he was driving without a licence and without insurance. Azruddin Mohamed’s arrests have all been linked to illegal activities, nothing remotely close to “political persecution”. Jagan’s arrests were all for political activities defending the rights of citizens – genuine political persecution.
Cheddi Jagan returned to Guyana as a dentist after studying in the USA. Every single Guyanese that returned as a doctor, dentist, lawyer, engineer or any other profession in those times became wealthy or, at least, lived the life of the high middle class. Cheddi did not pursue wealth; he instead devoted all his life, from youth to his death, to fighting for freedom, fighting for social justice and fighting against rigged elections. He stood up to the colonial masters, including the mighty UK and America. He stood up against Burnham and Hoyte’s army and police. He faced judges whose laws were not the constitution but the paramountcy of the PNC. Cheddi faced the courts, confronted his persecutors and exposed them. Azruddin Mohamed is desperately hiding from those he accused of “persecuting” him. Is he fighting for justice, or is he hiding from justice?
Azruddin Mohamed spent his youthful years seeking wealth by any means. He carefully crafted his “playboy reputation”, travelling around Guyana with his Lamborghini, showing off his wealth. Cheddi travelled around the country with his “poor man” car, on bicycle, in canoes and rowboats, and on donkey carts, walking for miles to meet citizens to stand with them and fight for them. Azruddin Mohamed has sought to buy people’s loyalty, the same way El Chapo and Pablo Escobar did. The same people who voted for him in Elections 2025, people from Burnham’s party, will never compare him to even Forbes Burnham. The natural comparison is to Pablo Escobar, El Chapo and “Dudus”.
When people recklessly compare Azruddin Mohamed to Cheddi Jagan because they claim that he is being “politically persecuted” like Cheddi was, they dishonour Cheddi Jagan; they insult and soil his memory. Ruminations say to those who are inclined to recklessly compare Azruddin Mohamed to Cheddi Jagan – shame on you.