The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), led by Shalimar Ali Hack, announced today that it has successfully disposed of 310 cases throughout the year, with a significant portion related to murder.
In a release, the DPP’s office detailed that among the disposed cases were 100 related to murder, 16 for manslaughter, along with numerous cases involving sexual offenses, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact to murder, felonious wounding, and wounding with intent.
Out of the total cases, 200 were tried across the High Courts in Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo, while 110 cases were discontinued by the DPP. Specifically, 130 cases were presented at the Demerara Assizes, 26 at the Berbice Assizes, and 44 at the Essequibo Assizes.
According to the DPP’s report, the office secured 29 convictions and received 94 guilty pleas. In contrast, there were 39 not guilty verdicts rendered by juries, 44 formal verdicts of not guilty, two hung juries, and one aborted trial.
In 2025, the DPP’s office also received over 220 committal documents, of which 19 cases were discontinued due to insufficient evidence. Furthermore, the office provided legal advice on 4,060 police files received from the Guyana Police Force.
Looking ahead, the Demerara January 2026 Criminal Assizes is set to commence on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, with 126 cases listed for hearing before Acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh, Justice Gino Persaud, Justice Simone Morris, and Justice Hessaun Yasin. This docket includes 30 murder cases, 7 manslaughter cases, 11 attempted murder cases, 1 trafficking in narcotics case, and 77 sexual offenses, which will be addressed in the Sexual Offenses Court.
Additionally, the DPP’s office has appeared in 43 matters in the Court of Appeal, dealing primarily with bail pending appeals against convictions and sentences. Of those, 20 applications were made, with 12 denied, 6 granted, and 2 withdrawn.
