In a blistering op-ed, Retired Lieutenant Colonel Lelon Saul has called out the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government for what he describes as deeply entrenched, systemic discrimination against the Afro-Guyanese population. The outspoken Pan-Africanist and former military officer condemned the administration’s track record on equity, accusing it of perpetuating economic, social, and psychological marginalisation, while manipulating loyal Afro-Guyanese voices to maintain the illusion of inclusion.
Saul’s intervention comes amid fierce national debate over race, power, and state accountability, sparked by recent presentations to the United Nations Forum on the International Decade for People of African Descent. The forum was held April 16-19.
Saul’s words offered a sharp rebuke to those within the Afro-Guyanese community who defend the government’s policies, likening their support to “Stockholm syndrome,” that is, a psychological condition in which victims of abuse identify with their oppressors. “Some Afro-Guyanese individuals brazenly deny the PPP/C’s discriminatory practices against their kith and kin—a baffling phenomenon that demands scrutiny,” he wrote. “It represents internalised subordination and a submission to helplessness.”
Saul pointed to the brutal legacy of extrajudicial killings in the early 2000s, many of which claimed the lives of Afro-Guyanese men, as a wound the PPP/C has never acknowledged, let alone addressed. This was during the Bharrat Jagdeo presidency between 2002-2006. “Evidence confirms that scores of predominantly Afro-Guyanese lives were unlawfully taken under the government’s watch,” he stated, pointing out the administration’s failure to offer any accountability or atonement.
Economic exclusion, Saul argued, is another pillar of the oppression. He referenced evidence presented by attorney-at-law, and Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC) Nigel Hughes, showing that the most lucrative state contracts and licenses under the Ali administration were granted to entities with no Afro-Guyanese representation. “This data does not identify Afro-Guyanese,” Saul emphasised, suggesting a deliberate sidelining of the community in the allocation of wealth and opportunity.
Adding to the list of grievances, Saul highlighted the controversial land dispute involving the McPherson family of Kingelly, West Coast Berbice, where ancestral property rights were allegedly undermined by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, a senior PPP/C official. For Saul, the case symbolises a broader campaign of dispossession: “Systemic efforts to strip Afro-Guyanese of their rightful inheritance persist.”
He also pointed to judicial manipulation and selective prosecutions as tactics used to frustrate justice, citing the recent appeal in the wrongful death case of Quindon Bacchus as one such example. Although President Irfaan Ali later halted the appeal, Saul questioned the motivations behind its initiation, warning that other such cases remain unresolved.
In a direct challenge to the government, Saul called for an immediate Racial and Ethnic Disparity Survey to document inequities across health, housing, education, and employment. “Only with this information can the government effectively implement targeted interventions,” he argued, stressing that the time for anecdotal denials and political deflections is over.
Saul also cautioned against the use of state-aligned propaganda to gloss over structural racism. “The use of propaganda will not change the views of the marginalised and underserved,” he warned. “It will deepen divisions and foster hatred.”
In the election cycle Saul’s forceful critique is likely to reverberate across the political landscape. His call for justice, accountability, and data-driven reform highlights long-simmering tensions in a society still wrestling with its colonial past and ethnically fractured post-independence future.
