Nandlall publicly praises Chancellor, dismisses questions on alleged plot against Justice Cummings

Last Updated on Friday, 9 January 2026, 20:21 by Writer

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall hailed acting Chancellor Roxane George-Wiltshire’s work, but he shrugged off questions about whether the government had hatched a plan to remove her predecessor, Justice Yonnette Cummings-Edwards.

Delivering remarks at the handing over of US$400,000 worth of information technology (IT) equipment and software to the judiciary, Director of Public Prosecutions’ Chambers, Guyana Police Force, Guyana Fire Service, Guyana Prison Service, Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory, and the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Partnership of the Caribbean and the European Union (PACE) Justice Project, he highlighted Justice George-Wiltshire’s contribution to the justice sector.

“The Chancellor had extremely high ideals and I must compliment her. She works hard to achieve them and we have a special asset in her,” he said.

After the event held at the United Nations complex on Duke Street, Kingston, Georgetown, Mr Nandlall was asked to comment on claims in the media that the government might have orchestrated the removal of Justice Cummings from the judiciary.

In a sharp comment, as he swiftly headed to his vehicle, he said, “That’s ridiculous. I saw that somewhere.”

“Justice Cummings is a qualified, very respected jurist. Do you think Justice Cummings will subject herself to that type of conduct?” he asked.

Before a Stabroek News reporter could have completed asking a second question, Mr Nandlall said: “I’m not going to tolerate those kinds of…Not everything in the press you follow on. These are to be rejected out of hand.”

Former Chief Magistrate Kalam Juman Yassin recently suggested in a letter to Stabroek News that there might have been a carefully orchestrated plot against Justice Cummings-Edwards.

Two days after Justice Cummings-Edwards resumed duty in late October 2025, President Irfaan Ali announced that she was proceeding on pre-retirement, and that Mr Navindra Singh would continue to act as Chief Justice and Justice George-Wiltshire as acting Chancellor.

Mr Nandlall, former local government minister Nigel Dharamlall and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had publicly criticised the Guyana Court of Appeal for its decisions in a number of political cases.

Then opposition parliamentarians Annette Ferguson had called for an apology to be issued to justices Cummings and Barnes.

The vast majority of Ms George-Wiltshire’s decisions, as Chief Justice, had been upheld by the Caribbean Court of Justice even after a number of them had been overturned by the Guyana Court of Appeal.