Troy Kellman and Cyril (Tunde): Goodbye

NOVEMBER 2, 2015 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER FEATURES / COLUMNISTS, FREDDIE KISSOON

Last week two persons I knew very well passed away. I met Dr. Cyril during the turbulent times of the seventies when young people were attracted to the pull of Walter Rodney. I was entering UG; he was leaving. On graduating, he took a job at UG as a teaching assistant. This was a period when young Africans came under the influence of Eusi Kwayana’s advocacy of the need for African Guyanese to identify with the essential elements of African culture. Kwayana’s organization, ASCRIA (African Society for Cultural Relations with Independent Africa) produced scores of young African Guyanese who had changed their names never any longer to be identified with their Christian appellations. Two such protégés are national icons – Tacuma Ogunseye and Andaiye. Other names included Dr. Omawale, Sase Omo, Mobutu, Osase, Adishina (deceased), Nkofee (UG lecturer; deceased) Cyril adopted the African name Tunde. I met Tunde during the Walter Rodney era of liberation. I worked for twenty-six years with him as a teaching colleague at UG and I never ever called him Cyril. At formal board meetings at UG, I would refer to him as Dr. or Dean but in every private conversation, I called him Tunde. When I told my wife that Dr. Solomon from UG died she couldn’t place him. Then I showed her the death announcement in the newspaper with his photograph and she said; “Oh, you mean Tunde.” She knew all of them from our courting days by their African names. Tunde never became a national politician. He was more concerned with producing papers on radical economics no doubt due to the influence of his mentor, Clive Thomas. At UG, he was broadly supportive of the progressive movement but didn’t want to be in the forefront. In his early days at UG, he was noticeable when the union summoned protest action. I got the distinct impression that with age, he wanted a rest away from politics on the campus and politics in general.

Dr. Cyril Solomon

Troy Kellman

I will always remember him for his obligation to me to defend me against detractors who didn’t know me, didn’t understand my politics and were willing to be nasty because I wasn’t PPP or PNC. The regret I have at the death of Tunde is that he didn’t live longer to see his mentor Clive at work in Thomas’ important position in the exercise of state power. He didn’t live to contribute to the new government in which his skills in economics could have been used to shape a purposeful future for Guyana. Tory Kellman was a student of mine but we became close comrades when we were active in the Rodneyite groundings community we called the People’s Parliament. This essentially Rodneyite organization took up residence opposite the eastern face of the Parliament Building in High Street in July 2012. It was formed as a reaction to the violence committed against unarmed protestors in Linden during the demonstration against the electricity payment controversy. Troy became a fierce activist of People’s Parliament. Victimized people would come to us and plea for our intervention. One such example was the eviction of Parika vendors. Troy Kellman gave selfless service to those vendors. Then a group of African-rights activists sought our participation in efforts to erect a monument on Parade Ground to the slaves who were executed for their uprising in 1823. Out of that process an organization was formed named Coalition for the 1823 Monument on Parade Ground. Troy Kellman forsook his little cleaning business to devote time to People’s Parliament, Parika vendors and the monument battle. For this he paid a high price. He could not get contracts from the state. Sudden illness took Troy away last week. I would like to repeat what I said in my eulogy at the church service. The Government owes it to Troy Kellman to see his dream of having that monument put on Parade Ground. This was what Troy dreamt of. This was what Troy wanted. Like Tunde, Troy passed away without having to see a new government settle down to building a future for Guyana to which he could have made a valuable contribution. Like Tunde, his university training was in economics. Had he lived longer, then, no doubt he would have tendered for cleaning contracts and would have had his bids recognized, a right he was denied under the previous government. I end in the way I ended my funeral eulogy. The point is not to live forever but to leave something that will. For Troy, it is the Parade Ground monument.