Dear Editor
I was recently made aware of an article by Mr. Freddie Kissoon, suggesting that my recent commentary on political hypocrisy and selective outrage in Guyana may have “lifted” sentiments from his columns.
Let me be direct: I have never read a Freddie Kissoon column. Not out of malice – just simply because I haven’t found him to be a source relevant to my scholarship, creative work, or political analysis.
To accuse someone of plagiarism over widely used political phrases such as “selective accountability,” “the silence is deafening,” or “lack of integrity” is not only illogical , it reflects a troubling kind of intellectual gatekeeping. These are not original inventions. They are universal descriptors of political betrayal. What Mr. Kissoon calls plagiarism, most of us would call shared observation and lived experience.
Ironically, Mr. Kissoon spends the majority of his column agreeing with my argument, so perhaps this is less about authorship and more about ownership of public discourse. But I’ll say this: I don’t need to borrow from anyone to speak my truth. My voice is forged in real-world engagement, not recycled punditry.
And while I appreciate that Mr. Kissoon sees in my writing echoes of his own, he may want to consider that truth often reverberates. If our critiques sound similar, it’s not theft – it’s resonance. It means Guyanese citizens are waking up and naming the patterns long protected by political theatre and intellectual elitism.
The real story isn’t whether my words remind Mr. Kissoon of his own. The real story is that political actors, those who once cried foul over intellectual property theft are now the very ones accused of doing the same. That’s not an abstract debate. That’s a live issue with receipts, timelines, and reputational harm.
Let me be direct: I have never read a Freddie Kissoon column. Not out of malice – just simply because I haven’t found him to be a source relevant to my scholarship, creative work, or political analysis.
To accuse someone of plagiarism over widely used political phrases such as “selective accountability,” “the silence is deafening,” or “lack of integrity” is not only illogical , it reflects a troubling kind of intellectual gatekeeping. These are not original inventions. They are universal descriptors of political betrayal. What Mr. Kissoon calls plagiarism, most of us would call shared observation and lived experience.
Ironically, Mr. Kissoon spends the majority of his column agreeing with my argument, so perhaps this is less about authorship and more about ownership of public discourse. But I’ll say this: I don’t need to borrow from anyone to speak my truth. My voice is forged in real-world engagement, not recycled punditry.
And while I appreciate that Mr. Kissoon sees in my writing echoes of his own, he may want to consider that truth often reverberates. If our critiques sound similar, it’s not theft – it’s resonance. It means Guyanese citizens are waking up and naming the patterns long protected by political theatre and intellectual elitism.
The real story isn’t whether my words remind Mr. Kissoon of his own. The real story is that political actors, those who once cried foul over intellectual property theft are now the very ones accused of doing the same. That’s not an abstract debate. That’s a live issue with receipts, timelines, and reputational harm.
I’ll leave Mr. Kissoon to reflect on why he felt the need to insert himself into a situation that has nothing to do with him. In the meantime, I remain focused on the real issues:
– Ethical leadership.
– Respect for creative labor.
– Intellectual honesty.
– And a political culture that values truth over theatrics.
Let us all, regardless of profession, remember: there is no virtue in standing beside a woman when the government is the accused, only to mock her when your allies are the ones on trial.
Yours truly
– Nakisha Sinclair
Founder, TriFusion Consultancy & Martian Nella Entertainment
Guyanese Businesswoman | Creative Advocate | Policy Consultant
