Mauritius PM accused of swearing false affidavit, dragged to Court

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth has been accused of perjury by a 2019 general elections candidate hailing from the opposition Labour Party.

The candidate, Suren Dayal, has reportedly triggered a private prosecution against Jugnauth before the District Court of Port-Louis, accusing the PM and leader of the MSM-ruling party of having sworn a false affidavit in court.

According to Dayal, who was running for elections in the same constituency, Jugnauth declared that he only spent Rs 124,333 for the elections.

However, Dayal’s lawyers Antoine Domingue and Roshi Bhadain are said to be in possession of the records of all expenses incurred by Jugnauth’s MSM party.

These were allegedly held in the personal diary of late Soopramanien Kistnen, the main political activist of the party who was found murdered last year.

According to the said records, the MSM allegedly spent more than Rs 4 million for the election campaign in Jugnauth’s constituency in 2019.

Several witnesses who claim to have obtained payments for their services during the 2019 campaign will also be heard as from November 8.