Nov 14, 2026
2 min read
What has stayed with Kofi Kwayana was how much tenderness his father carried alongside the fire in his convictions.
At Moray House on Thursday evening, he recalled how his father “was able to hold that fire and still be tender and still be kind and still be compassionate, as well as fearless.”
It was one of the more personal tributes at Moray House in Georgetown on Thursday evening, where family, friends and former colleagues gathered to remember Eusi Kwayana ahead of his funeral in Buxton on Saturday.
Working People’s Alliance (WPA) leader Dr David Hinds traced Kwayana’s contribution back to the struggle for independence. Born Sydney Evanson King, Kwayana became a teacher at 15 and went on to serve in the People’s Progressive Party government elected in 1953. He later became general secretary of the People’s National Congress and helped found the WPA.
Across those years, Hinds said, Kwayana kept returning to one question: “how to turn this former plantation into a nation.”
Former WPA executive Dr Wazir Mohamed spoke of what he learned from working alongside Kwayana. “Eusi did not simply speak about justice; he lived it. He did not simply preach racial harmony; he practised it.”
Researcher and activist Nigel Westmaas remembered the man who wrote plays and songs, could spot a legal technicality before the lawyers did, and took an interest in how poor people made a living and what small businesses they could build for themselves.
For Kofi, remembering his father also meant thinking about what the next generation would inherit. “We are not successful until our children are successful, until our successors are successful,” he said.
Kwayana, widely known as the Sage of Buxton, died on October 10 at age 101.
He will be buried today after a procession and viewing in his beloved home village.
Those joining the funeral procession are asked to gather at 10 a.m. at the north-western corner of Lusignan Main Road and the East Coast Demerara Public Road.
The procession will head to the Buxton Ball Ground, where public viewing begins at noon, followed by the funeral service and burial.
The observances conclude on Sunday with cultural performances, tributes and a repast at the ball ground from noon to 5 p.m.
