Melville Cooke
Watch what yu saying
to my sister
She could be your next
Prime Minister
-Tony Rebel
KD KNIGHT was wrong when he announced earlier this week that he would be leaving government, effective today. Not that there is anything wrong with him going. The rub is with his statement that "there is a time to move on and the time is now."
That time, much like that B.C. Lara's sticking at the wicket of the West Indies cricket team, is long, long, very long gone.
It was gone from in the late 1990s, as Minister of National Insecurity; or as Minister of Foreign Affairs (a rather curious position, as I believe diplomacy is very foreign to the dark one), two years ago he boorishly advised the duly democratically elected and duly deposed despotically leader of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, not to stir up any trouble while he was in Jamaica. For one there was not much possibility of Mr. Aristide raising an army from the excess supply of shottas and excess supply of weaponry floating around in Jamaica and launching a reverse of the boat people exodus from Morant Point.
Additionally, how could a man abducted from the very seat of government be accused of causing trouble for simply pointing out that he is, after all, the person who the people want to lead them.
VERBALLY ABUSED
But the time was definitely gone when, in June 2004, Knight verbally abused Portia Simpson Miller, then many a hug and kiss away from being Jamaica's seventh Prime Minister, in the House of Parliament (not the Chamber) of all places, this over her going against the government line on the woefully ill-equipped and inadequate Fire Brigade. Simpson Miller's reply caused the goodly guy to bristle and twitch.
(He should have known better than to draw out a woman of whom deejay Bounty Killer, while performing at a Peace Day concert in downtown Kingston in March, said: "A roun' ya she come from. A gully gal!)
What especially galled me was that not one person in the House defended Simpson Miller (not that she seemed to need much help). Not one of those men said to Knight "yu cyaan deal wid de woman so."
There is a thing called 'long run, short ketch', though, and the short ketch for Knight came when Simpson Miller was elected leader of the People's National Party (PNP), whupping his choice, Peter Philips, this after most uncomplimentary things were said about the woman's mental capacity.
Knight obviously did not listen to Tony Rebel, did he. Now he can mosey on back to his law practice or the kitchen cabinet, whichever he prefers.
He reminds me of the type of character I despise, which should have no place in the society and certainly not in government. It is a tiny triumph and one which will not, essentially, change anything, but still it is immensely satisfying.
Good Knight, good riddance.
Melville Cooke is a freelance writer.
