Former government minister Dr Jennifer Westford and her former aide Margaret Cummings were yesterday freed of the 24 larceny charges of larceny by a public officer that were laid against them for the alleged theft of over $600 million while in government.
Among the reasons given by Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman for the dismissal of the charges against Westford was that they were “bad in law,” since she was not a public officer. Her finding, if unchallenged by an appeal, could see other pending charges against Westford for allegedly attempting to steal state vehicles being dismissed.
The joint charges against Westford and Cummings, who was the Personnel Officer at the former ministry under the former PPP/C government, stated that between the period October 19th, 2011 and April 28th, 2015, while being employed with the former Public Service Ministry, they stole a total of $639,420,000, belonging to the Government of Guyana, which they received by virtue of employment.
