Former Chancellor Justice Cecil Kennard laid to rest

Scores of persons on Wednesday gathered at the Bel Air, Georgetown residence of former Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice (retd) Cecil Kennard, OR, CCH, to pay their last respects to this legal luminary who died last Saturday at the age of 86.

As he lay in a casket at his home, a wide range of officials were in attendance at his funeral ceremony, including President Dr. Irfaan Ali; Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, and other Cabinet members; Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards; Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, SC; other judicial officers, and members of the Bar Association of Guyana.
Speaking at the funeral service, President Ali described the late Justice Kennard as a distinguished gentleman who had an incredible soul, while he thanked Justice Kennard’s family members for having shared him with Guyana.
The Head of State said the former judicial officer had spent a volume of his life serving the people of his native land.

“If you are to understand the lifetime of Justice Kennard and the key role he played in so many different circumstances in our country, we would all have an appreciation for the magnitude of time he would have had to put to the service of the people of this country,” President Ali said as he reflected on Justice Kennard’s life.
President Ali said Justice Kennard had been a very simple and humble man who had always carried himself respectfully. According to the President, those are the characteristics and lessons in real life that everyone can mirror in their service to the people.
Although Justice Kennard, who had hailed from the ancient county of Berbice, had assumed great national and regional prominence, he had never disconnected himself from where he came, President Ali added. To this end, the President reminded those gathered that they can only have a positive impact on others, and share their lives with them, if they remain connected with those in their community.
“He [Justice Kennard] lived his passion; horseracing was his passion. He contributed to his passion in a legendary way. A conversation about the judicial system would not be complete without him. A conversation about horseracing would not be complete without him…I know he was looking forward to sharing more of his life with the people of this country, he was looking forward to serving more,” the President said.
The President added that Justice Kennard had been full of life, full of ideas, and full of brilliance. He said the intellect of Justice Kennard had never wavered one day.

“I have had the opportunity to seek his counsel; receive his counsel voluntarily on many issues, national, regional, and I am very grateful for all those encounters,” President Ali said.
In extended heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the deceased, President Ali also encouraged everyone to take examples from the late former Chancellor’s life and apply them to their own lives in order to ensure the work that he and many others had done for Guyana would continue in their honour and memory.
Justice Kennard was passionate about the law, particularly criminal law. And according to the Judiciary, he has left a rich legacy of decisions that have enriched the jurisprudence of Guyana and the Caribbean.
Former Chancellor Kennard, who had been recipient of two national awards, namely the Order of Roraima (OR) and the Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH), had studied law at the United Kingdom’s prestigious Lincoln’s Inn. His long and illustrious career had seen him holding positions as Crown Counsel in the Chambers of the Attorney General and Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Magistrate, Legal Advisor to the Guyana Police Force, Puisne Judge, Justice of Appeal, Chief Justice, and Chancellor.
Prior to his judicial career in Guyana, he had served with distinction as a prosecutor in Antigua and Barbuda. On his retirement from the Judiciary, Justice Kennard had served as Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority, and was consulted by governmental agencies. (G1)