He believes that the Prime Minister is not aware of the realities within the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). In a video posted on his personal networks, Mr. Rouben Mooroongapillay states that the IPCC is currently operating with only 5 or 6 investigators employed on a contractual basis and without the necessary logistics to carry out the approximately 1,511 investigations against police officers.
He was reacting to Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth’s response in Parliament on Wednesday 15 June. The PM made it clear that there is no need to set up a commission of enquiry into the torture cases as the IPCC would have “extensive powers to investigate”.
Rouben Mooroongapillay explains the figures: “This commission has been spending 11 to 13 million per year since 2018, but the rest is not working as it should. They have neither the means nor the logistics. In April 2018, when it was created, the IPCC inherited 277 cases of complaints of brutality from the National Rights Committee, 720 by the end of June 2019, and by 30 June 2019 a total of 997 cases to investigate, the IPCC still had 540 cases pending investigations. Worse, they are only 5 investigators away from 540 pending cases. As of 30 June 2020, 988 cases under investigation. Are there enough of them for all these cases? As of mid-June 2022, 1511, cases, and since the videos are in circulation, there are dozens of new cases. To date there are only 6 investigators with recruitment and taken on a 2-year contract basis. If we count, that’s about 250 cases per investigator and they are operating without supervisors.
He also drew attention to the fact that the investigators do not have vehicles and for each trip they have to make a request to the PMO 48 hours in advance, attached with the roadmap. “Will the IPCC be able to work to bring justice to the victims? He believes that “5 investigators per police district, i.e. a minimum of 50 and full time, a Prosecution Unit and good supervision are needed”. For him, “Justice Delayed is Justice Denied”, the lawyer appealed to the PM to consider his recommendations and remedy this shortcoming for the good of the victims.
