In recent years, we have witnessed a troubling trend in Guyanese politics — individuals, some once revered for their principles, integrity, and commitment to justice, suddenly crossing over to the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) regime. While they parade their defection as pragmatic or patriotic, the truth is often far less noble. In reality, some of these individuals are not merely switching sides — they are eating their own flesh, betraying their past words, communities, and conscience.
Crossing the floor in politics is not inherently wrong. Democracy thrives on dialogue, evolution, and the occasional change of heart. But what we see today is not evolution — it’s erosion. It’s not political maturity, but moral bankruptcy. These individuals once stood against the very excesses, injustices, and discriminatory practices they now serve, and in doing so, they have turned on the very people who once believed in them.
It is as though they have placed their principles on the auction block — up for sale to the highest bidder. The PPP regime has become a refuge for political opportunists seeking power, position, and personal gain. In exchange, they must perform the grotesque act of cannibalizing their past — devouring their credibility, dignity, and in some cases, their community’s trust.
The consequences are grave. These crossovers weaken opposition unity and confuse the electorate. More dangerously, they embolden a government already accused of corruption, authoritarian tendencies, and ethnic favouritism. By lending their names to the regime, these defectors provide the PPP a fig leaf of legitimacy — while the country bleeds from inequity and mismanagement.
To those who made the leap: What happened to your voice? Your principles? Your fight for fairness? Was it all a performance? Or are you now content to feast at the table of excess while the people who once rallied behind you go hungry — politically, socially, economically?
History is watching. And when the dust settles, it will not be kind to those who traded truth for tokenism, conscience for contracts, and legacy for lunch.
In the end, those who feed on their own flesh will find themselves hollow. Because the price of betrayal — especially of one’s own people — is not only public shame. It is self-destruction.
