Chancellor hails Cummings-Edwards’ legacy

Jan 14, 2026 News

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…credits her with major court expansion, strategic reforms

(Kaieteur News) – Newly appointed Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Roxane George, on Monday paid glowing tribute to her predecessor Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, praising her 25 years of service and listing major institutional gains achieved under her stewardship, even as she outlined an ambitious, but challenging roadmap for reforming Guyana’s court system.

Speaking at a special sitting of the Full Bench of the Supreme Court of Judicature, Justice George acknowledged Justice Cummings-Edwards’ role in expanding court infrastructure, establishing specialised courts and magisterial districts, advancing court technology and launching the Judiciary’s Strategic Plan. “The Judiciary and the staff of the Supreme Court of Judicature thank Chancellor Cummings-Edwards for her service and wish her well in her retirement,” Justice George said, in remarks that stood out given the former Chancellor’s abrupt retirement late last year amid widespread speculation that she was forced out. Justice George made no reference to the controversy, instead emphasising continuity and respect.

President Irfaan Ali on October 24, 2025 announced that Justice Cummings had proceeded on early retirement and that Justices George and Navindra Singh will continue to perform the duties of Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary and Acting Chief Justice, respectively. During a live broadcast, President Ali said that Justice Cummings-Edwards had requested to proceed on pre-retirement leave beginning Monday, October 27, 2025. “I take this opportunity to thank Madam Justice Cummings-Edwards for her long service to the judiciary and the people of Guyana. I express my personal appreciation for her many years of public service,” President Ali said then.  News Source Guyana had reported prior to the departure of Cummings-Edwards that President Ali had written to outgoing Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton seeking his consensus on the substantive appointment of Justice George as Chancellor and Justice Singh as Chief Justice.

In a scathing letter to this newspaper recently Senior Counsel and former Chief Magistrate Juman Yassin criticised the manner in which Cummings-Edwards departed the bench. He opined that former Acting Chancellor was not liked by the government as a result of the majority decision(s) of the Court of Appeal that she gave with the appeals pertaining to the 2020 elections and as such when she applied to proceed on leave, back in August 2025 a plan was hatched to have her removed. The plan, Yassin said also included to have Justice Singh being appointed to act as Chief Justice in order to cover any case that might come up before or after the elections to be held on the 1st September, 2025. “I wish to state that what was done to Madam Cummings-Edwards to force her to retire without giving her the opportunity to retire with dignity was wrong and failed to consider the decades that she served in the public service. I do hope that there is never a repeat of such an occurrence…” Yassin said in his letter.

According to Yassin, when appointments depart from established custom and precedent, the failure to provide a clear rationale invites speculation, embarrassment and most dangerously loss of public confidence in the judiciary. He said while Article 127(2) of the Constitution grants the President discretion to appoint acting officeholders after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition, Yassin cautions that such discretion must never be exercised “willy-nilly.” Discretion, he argued, does not exist in a vacuum and remains open to scrutiny, particularly when appointments appear inconsistent with experience, seniority and judicial practice.

Meanwhile, Justice George said as she reflected on her appointment, “I thought it must be rare that a child, more especially a girl child, would follow in her father’s footsteps to serve in this esteemed capacity as head of judiciary. I thank my heavenly Father and cherish the memory of my earthly father, former Chancellor Kenneth George, whose robes I wear, and express my gratitude to my husband, children, mother, siblings, other family members, including my late parents-in-law, and my few but very dear friends for their love, care and support over the years, which allowed me to flourish in what we all know is an extremely demanding profession. I pray for health and strength to always do my best. I pledge to work humbly, respectfully, impartially and with patience and integrity, so that the judiciary of Guyana fulfils its mission to uphold the rule of law and provide access to and timely delivery of justice in a fair, transparent, and efficient manner.”

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• Guyana’s court system, justice, legacy, Roxane George, Yonette Cummings-Edwards

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