Wilfredo “Shubu” Brown: dead at 79

He was a staunch supporter of the United Democratic Party and its forerunners…and tonight the institution known as Shubu is no more. Shubu, whose real name was Wilfredo Brown, passed away at his Tigris Street home around one o’clock this afternoon. His caregiver for the last three years, Joy Young, told News 5 that the seventy-nine year old, who suffered from a brain tumour and prostate cancer, was confined to bed earlier this year. In October doctors informed him that there was nothing else they could do for him. With no known family in Belize, News 5 understands that the UDP, which he regarded as his family, is making arrangements for Shubu’s funeral later this week. Originally from Guatemala, Shubu came to Belize as a young boy, took up work on the sugar boats, and decided to make Belize his new home, eventually engulfing himself in the political life of the new nation.