Cybercrime charge brought by Chief of Staff Khan against former Minister Ferguson dismissed

Former Minister, in A Partnership of National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Government, Annette Ferguson walked out of the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court as free and relieved person after Senior Magistrate Leron Daly dismissed a charge laid against her on the 21^st June, 2021 in the Georgetown Magistrates Court. The Magistrate had previously overruled a No Case Submission made by Ferguson’s lawyer, Lyndon Amsterdam, and called on the former minister to lead a defence which she did.

Thereafter, submissions were made by her attorney who contended that the Prosecutor failed to prove the case against the former minister at the required standard of beyond reasonable doubt. Amsterdam highlighted that the section of the Cybercrime Act under which the Police laid the charge did not establish an Offence and therefore the Court need not consider the evidence but should dismiss the Charge.

In her ruling on the 8^th February, 2024 Magistrate Daly agreed that the Section under which Ferguson was charged, did not establish an Offence and invited the Prosecutor to amend the Charge to another Section of the Act and this was done.

Magistrate Daly then analysed the evidence and found that there were five elements of the Section which had to be proven by the Prosecutor and whilst she found Ferguson made the post that caused then, Colonel Omar Khan to lodge a complaint with the Police under the Cybercrime Act, nevertheless the Magistrate ruled that the Prosecutor had not led any evidence that when Ferguson made said post, she knew it was false, and therefore dismissed the charge against the former minister.

Had Annette Ferguson been found Guilty by the Magistrate she faced a fine of $5,000,000.00 (five million dollars) and imprisonment of three years.

Now Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Omar Khan had filed a complaint with the Police that he had seen a post made by Ferguson on Facebook under the heading “Exclusive: PPP secures $250 million budget to resuscitate Black Clothes Death Squad- Col Omar Khan identified to head new killing squad.” Khan was able to trace the post to the Facebook page of Ferguson and therefore lodged a complaint with the Police that the post had caused him embarrassment and humiliation.

The Police, after interviewing Ferguson at CID Headquarters Eve Leary, charged her under the Cybercrime Act on the 21^st June, 2021. The trial lasted for more than two (2) years. During the trial it was revealed the post was first made  by another individual and this was allegedly reposted  by Ferguson.