This “shady Peter Uricek affair”, according to Adrien Duval, represents “from A to Z” a constitutional crisis between the Attorney General and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Adrien Duval was speaking at a press briefing of the Mauritian Social Democratic Party (PMSD) on Saturday 14 May. He believes that the government must answer on the whole process of this hasty repatriation, and especially on his long stay in Mauritius! Adrien Duval also returned to his appeal to the Privy Council and the motion of censure rejected in Parliament by the majority.
“Warning” from the Opposition
The son has supported his father. Adrien Duval commented on the “Motion of No Confidence” rejected yesterday in Parliament, describing it as a “warning” from the Opposition as well as the voice of disgruntled Mauritians which has been brought back to Parliament. “If the debate does not take place in Parliament, it will take place in the streets. If the rights of the Opposition continue to be trampled on or if attempts are made to limit the right of expression, the debate will take place on the streets. And that is what we want to avoid at all costs. The government must start being accountable to the people,” he said.
Shady from A to Z
The PMSD wants to shed light on the Peter Uricek case. Adrien Duval does not hide the fact that this affair is shady from A to Z for him, hence his questions: “How did he come to Mauritius? Why make him leave in this way?” He does not concede to the thesis of illegal immigrant and wonders how the Slovakian could, without hiding, live and invest in Mauritius while he was listed in the Red Notice of Interpol since August 2020 and an International Arrest Warrant issued on his person. “There are too many shady things in the story. And the whole illegal immigrant thing doesn’t add up. If he is really a merchant of death, it is serious that he was able to do his business quietly in Mauritius for a year and a half. He used his money in our country and we don’t seem to want to know what he did,” he said. He went on to express his incomprehension as to how this quick and easy repatriation supported by the government took place; and among his many questions, he blurted out, “What does the government have to hide?”
Appeal to the Privy Council
He does not intend to accept the Supreme Court’s ruling of 27 April 2022. The defeated National Alliance candidate in Constituency No. 17 (Curepipe/Midlands), believing that he did not receive a fair trial and contesting the dismissal of his election petition, filed an application to the Supreme Court on 12 May 2022 to be eligible to appeal to the Privy Council. The Supreme Court ruling states that the petitioner could not prove in his election petition the alleged irregularities in the counting of ballots in the 07 November 2019 legislative elections at St. John Bosco Roman Catholic Aided School. Adrien Duval had asked the court to order a recount. He was against the Election Commissioner, Irfan Rahman, the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC) and Sharma Ramphul, the Returning Officer of Constituency No. 17. All 33 candidates of the constituency are named as co-defendants. The elected representatives of the constituency, in order, are Steven Obeegadoo of the Alliance Morisien, Michael Sik Yuen of the Alliance Nationale and Kenny Dhunnoo of the Alliance Morisien and himself in 4th place.
During the press briefing, Jacques Panglose revealed that this case will be called before the Privy Council in England on 23 May. Adrien Duval listed 17 points of appeal, among which are the acts of violence in the Counting Centre and the points of witnesses which have not been taken into consideration.
