A 30-year-old assistant accountant with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was on Thursday remanded to prison after being charged with stealing more than $5 million from the Commission’s Secretariat in Georgetown.
The accused, Dikimbie Gittens, of Onderneeming, Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, appeared before Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to answer a charge of Larceny by Clerk or Servant, contrary to Section 184 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act, Chapter 8:01. Gittens was not required to enter a plea.
The alleged theft occurred between September 15 and 16, 2025, at GECOM’s Secretariat located at Barrack and Fort Streets, Kingston. According to investigators, Gittens unlawfully took more than $5 million intended for the payment of temporary polling day staff who worked during the September 1 General and Regional Elections.
Police said Gittens was among several Accounts Department employees questioned after the cash was reported missing over the weekend. He was arrested on September 22 after detectives reportedly found a portion of the stolen funds in his possession. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum confirmed that only a “small fraction” of the money has been recovered so far and that the investigation is ongoing.
The discovery of the missing money has delayed salary payments for some temporary staff, many of whom were either short-paid or still awaiting full compensation. Bail was denied, and Gittens was remanded to the Camp Street Prison until October 15, 2025, when the matter will be called again for report.
The case has placed GECOM under public scrutiny just weeks after the national elections, with the Commission assuring that it is cooperating fully with law enforcement authorities.
