Nunez-Tesheira, Hamel-Smith jump fence to attend Panday’s funeral: Why weren’t we invited?

FORMER finance minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira and former Senate president Timothy Hamel-Smith entered the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA) compound by climbing over a railing on Tuesday morning to attend the funeral of former prime minister Basdeo Panday. Both expressed disappointment they had not been invited and could not get in any other way.

Panday, 90, died on January 1 in the US.

Nunez-Tesheira and Hamel-Smith were helped over a railing just before 9am – the scheduled start time for the funeral.

Hamel-Smith is leader of the HOPE party and Nunez-Tesheira a deputy leader. HOPE is said to stand for: “Honest government, Opportunities for all, People-centric governance and Economic engineering.”

In a live interview with CNC3, Nunez-Tesheira said they tried “various ways” to get in, adding that security guards and police were kind to them.

“They told us the procession is coming and (that we) could go over the rail.”

She said she tried pleading with government ministers to enter regularly, but was ignored.

“I would never do that to (them).

“(Another government member) saw me and said there’s nothing he can do.
"How could you treat a former colleague and a (former) president of the Senate in that manner?”

She said this treatment is a reflection of the government’s true nature.

“I’m incredibly sorry I had to do something (jump over the rail) like that. I had no other choice.”

Hamel-Smith said he questioned the Office of the President about his invitation, which then directed him to the Office of the Prime Minister, which further directed him to the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs.

“Then nobody answered their phone…Nobody knew where my invitation was.”