Joshua Hubbard and his father, Orin.

An eight-year old student of St. Margaret’s Primary School, whose ambition was to become a President of Guyana, died apparently due to internal injury he sustained when a classmate pushed him down for a rose that he had bought for his mother on Valentine’s Day.

“He used to say ‘Daddy I would be the next president of Guyana and I will make the place clean, everything, and he was doing so well in school because this term he even topped the class,” said a sobbing Orin Hubbard.

Joshua Hubbard awoke around 1:30 Friday morning, complaining of severe headache. A clearly depressed Orin said his son’s eyes were rolling and his daughter, who is studying nursing, later checked his pulse but there was no beat.

“We rubbed his face with Limacol and afterwards he calmed down and afterwards his eyes start turn up,” he said.

Orin said he rushed his son to Woodlands Hospital where the lad was hooked up to medical equipment and later pronounced dead.

Even as family members await an autopsy to determine the cause of death, Orin said he learnt from a school teacher that an identifiable classmate, who was absent from school on Friday, had pushed down Joshua on Thursday.

It is unclear whether the boy’s surviving siblings and parents would know exactly what transpired because no one is willing to testify. “The children who see don’t want to come forward and say what really take place,” said Orin.

He said he learnt that the classmate had been apparently pursuing Orin for the rose that he had purchased to give his mother for Valentine’s Day when he returned home from school. “He had this rose that he bought for his Mom and this boy like he had wanted the rose and because he can’t get it, he decided to push him,” said the man

The man said his son never complained of pains although he related that he had been pushed down but the boy never apologised.

The father, who works with Windjammer Hotel and Catering Service, said when Joshua returned home he played with the children in the yard, had a bath, ‘head-up’ his books for Friday’s school and retired to bed.“He go to bed and the only time he wake up is when he wake up and start screaming,” he said.