Anishta Babooram was revoked from her job at the National Preventive Mechanism Division at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in June 2017 – a year prior to the end of her contract. While her termination of appointment letter stated that she was revoked under section 113 (Where under any law… the holder of the office may be required to vacate the office at any time after a general election held after the appointment) of the constitution, Babooram knew the real reason behind her sudden dismissal.

Speaking during a press conference a few days later, Babooram did not mince her words, and in her opinion, the reason why she was revoked is because she had publicly stated that the death of Police Officer Arvind Hurreechurn was “suspicious”. Hurreechurn had been found with 2kg of heroin in November 2016 and allegedly hanged himself in his cell at the Moka Detention Centre a few days after his arrest. At the time, Babooram – who was still working at the NHRC – had also requested for an inquiry into the matter; however, it never happened.

“In fact, the acting chairperson at the time had called me in her office and she told me there would be consequences for my actions,” Babooram revealed to the press. “I am not a political nominee, and the NHRC is not a board or a company. It is an independent institution. The government had no business interfering in the NHRC.”

She was right, but there is no such thing as an independent institution with no interference from the government and the people close to power these days. Not only was Babooram revoked for speaking up about suspicious activities in prison, but worse, she was replaced last week by none other than Namrata Gaya-Teeluckdharry, the wife of the deputy speaker, Sanjeev Teeluckdharry.

Teeluckdharry was nominated for a mandate of four years by the president under the advice of Pravind Jugnauth, the prime minister of the same government that promised to abolish the practice of petits copains during the 2014 electoral campaign. After her swearing-in ceremony for her new position, Teeluckdharry stated that she will do her best to guarantee the protection of human rights. But, does she really think that she will be able to do her job properly and act independently in cases where people’s rights have been trampled upon by the state?

No need to say that Teeluckdharry’s nomination immediately led to a polemic around the island, with opposition members even raising the point of conflict of interest since her husband, who is also a lawyer, is one of the founders of the Human Rights Association that reports cases to the NHRC. But, unsurprisingly, the deputy speaker does not agree. According to him, the competence of his wife cannot be questioned. Of course not. In fact, the family members of those in power seem to be the only ones in the country who are highly educated and competent.

Was Namrata Gaya-Teeluckdharry really the most qualified person to fill that post? That’s another suspicious activity that will be brushed under the carpet.

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