Commission of Inquiry: Conflicting Statements from Ameenah Gurib-Fakim and Yousuf Mohamed

The work of the Commission of Inquiry on Ameenah Gurib-Fakim resumed this Thursday. The Senior Counsel, Yousuf Mohamed, was auditioned and he contradicted the former President of the Republic. The lawyer said that since 15th March this year, he had informed Ameenah Gurib-Fakim that she could not set up a Commission of Inquiry without the approval of the Council of Ministers. SC Yousuf Mohamed added that despite his advice, the former President of the Republic had asked the lawyer to draft the terms of reference of this Commission.

Earlier this week, the Managing Director of Barclays Bank presented at the Commission the statements of four credit cards issued in the name of the former President of the Republic. The statements cover the period from May 2016 to March 2017.

Interrogated by the judge Ashraf Caunhye and his assessors for an hour and a half, the former President of the Republic, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, detailed the events that led to her resignation on 23rd March. Hence, she also made several revelations unknown so far to the public.

The Commission, chaired by Judge Asraf Caunhye, assisted by judges Nirmala Devat and Gaitree Jugessur-Manna, was established by the Government. Its purpose is to establish whether the former President of the Republic violated Article 64 of the Constitution when she announced, on 17th March, the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry in the wake of the Platinum Card case.